Written in the Leaves
by JolindePerenhoed
Summary: One decision with many consequences. An unexpected turn in a mission and a misunderstanding between two friends cause confusion and disorientation in Hinata's young life. Yet surprises await her as the mist clears and certain secrets get to see daylight..
1. Decision Day

Chapter One

**Author note: This is the first chapter of nineteen. I just finished writing this fic after having started the first chapter one year ago on deviantart. I'm now gonna upload it here, and I'll update every three days. So no worries about ****me abandoning it! Enjoy!**

Frustration. Yes. Despair. Yes. She was searching for the right words to describe her feelings. Anger. Yeah. Oh, but she wasn't mad at him. Of course not, how could she be? She just hated herself. Why couldn't she talk to him or look him in the eyes without blushing madly, tripping over words, feeling the need to run away, or even fainting? But he never noticed, and when he did, he just didn't understand why. He had always been oblivious to these things. _Then how will I ever get him to notice me? I'm not the kind of girl to show off my body or something like that_, she thought, although she knew her body had matured well over the years and it would definitely have an effect on him. But she loved him to much to just want his body. She wanted the whole him, and she wanted him to want the whole her, not just her body, on his own free will.

She sighed as the frustration raised in her again. It was true that he knew who she was since the chuunin exams, but that was pretty much as far as it got, because she never had the guts to talk to him and get to know him better. She admitted she already knew a lot about him, because she had been watching him for so many years. She loved to secretly watch him train, to see the determination in his eyes when he was improving his new rasengan he developed recently, and to hear the shouts of joy when he was practicing with his kunai and he hit the target again and again, right in the middle.

At the academy he always had the lowest grades, and he'd failed the graduation test twice. Everybody always called him names and seemed to hate him, though she never understood why. _But look at him now_, she thought,_ from being one of the worst, the number one must unpredictable knucklehead ninja, to being one of the strongest shinobi of Konoha, having the kind of strength and determination only the Fourth could equal. He's so strong, and not only physical_. She remembered when he encouraged her while she was fighting her genius cousin during the preliminary exams. It was because of him she stood up again and again whenever Neji had knocked her down, his shoutings to her were the only reason why she'd kept fighting, refusing to surrender to fate. She didn't give up until the very end, just like he would do.  
_But how am I ever going to earn his respect when I'm not nearly as strong as him? How is he ever gonna think of me as an equal, as somebody worthy to talk to?_

She sighed again as she looked out of the open window of her apartment, and watched the people walking on the street below her. She found it relaxing to watch other people being busy. To see them shopping for groceries, talking to each other, having a meal in one of the little restaurants down the street, chasing a little kid who stole an apple or something, or just wandering around in the village.  
The knot in her stomach just started to untie a little when she saw a certain man walking among the crowd. Her heart skipped a beat and she could feel her cheeks warming up. _Oh please, he can't even see me here unless he looks up, which he won't, because he's probably heading for ramen at Ichiraku's_.  
She found it annoying that she still reacted like this whenever the blond ninja came in sight; she was almost eighteen years old now, she should know better than to act like some sort of fangirl.  
He already had a lot of fangirls, when he returned a few months ago with Jiraiya-sama (or ero-sennin, as he called his sensei), he had been a lot taller than the last time she had seen him, and even more handsome than she could remember. Years of harsh training got him all muscled up. He wasn't a boy anymore, like he was when he left, he'd become more manly now. But she wasn't the only one to perceived this; other girls started to notice him as well and even Sakura-san had blushed when she saw him again after all those years.

His golden, spiky hair was longer now and he had grown his whiskers too. He had also replaced his outfit. He no longer wore the bright orange and blue, but he had black clothes with orange now. He'd changed his Konoha headband from blue into a long black one.  
One of the few things that hadn't change were his ocean blue eyes, oh she would do anything if she could just drown in their deepness.  
The birthmarks on his face were also still there. As was his foxy-grin, as she secretly called it when he had a smile from ear to ear on his face.

A wind blew some leaves in her face. She pushed them away. She leaned further out of the window to have a better sight at her beloved one.

Suddenly he had the strong feeling someone was watching him from above. He looked up, only to see an open window, fluttering curtains out of it. _Weird_, he thought, _I swear someone was..._ The next thing that got his attention was his stomach making loud grumbling noises. _Right, ramen!!_

_That was close..._, she thought, hiding behind the curtains. _He almost caught me there_. She could still feel her heart beating like crazy, rapidly pumping blood through her veins. Carefully she stuck her head out of the window again, just enough to be able to quickly draw back is he looked up again. She watched him as he continued his walk to his favourite restaurant and disappeared in the crowd.  
She blew another chance and she knew it. _How the heck is he ever gonna like me if I keep hiding from him?!_ She cursed silently. _I must put an end to this. I need to...no way! I'll never find the courage to do that!_  
She remembered her 'under-twos' talk with Sakura-san a little while ago...

flashback  
It was a bright, sunny afternoon. Two kunoichi's were walking down streets of the Village hidden in the Leaves, they were just done reporting to Tsunade about their recent missions. They talked about the weather, the daily routine, their improvement, and about the other members of the Rookie Nine.  
'You know, he is never gonna notice you if you just don't talk to him...' Sakura suddenly said.  
The girls she spoke to was in shock. 'H-how do y-you know a-about th-that?' Just talking about him already caused her to stutter even more than usual.  
'Well, practically everybody knows about your crush on him, he is the only one who doesn't. The bakaa is just so stupid...' Sakura said as she went with her fingers through her pink hair.  
She didn't like the way Sakura spoke about him, but she knew she always talked like that about her comrade.  
'Why don't you just ask him on a date and see what he'll say?'  
'I-I don't think I...'  
Sakura cut her of. 'I mean, I don't think he still has a crush on me. Maybe because he started to like someone else. And, you never know, it might be you.'  
'I s-still don't think I would d-dare to do something like that...'  
'Oke, but what's the problem with just talking to him then, he's not gonna eat you, you know.'  
She kept quiet. She didn't know what to say.  
Sakura sighed. This girl was like the personification of shyness.  
'If nothing works, there's one thing you can do...'

end flashback

_Maybe Sakura-san was right_, she thought. _Maybe I should..._  
Wait. Was she really that desperate? That she was going do something that was so unlike her it was scary? _When did it ever got this far?_ She couldn't deny the thought had crossed her mind a lot lately. But to actually do it...She felt the knot in her stomach again. _Aaaaaarg, I'm gonna get crazy!_  
She shut the window and decided to take a walk.

She strolled through the forest surrounding Konoha. She had always loved to walk here. The trees breathed peacefulness, and the fresh air cleaned her mind. She sat down under a huge tree and leaned her head against the trunk.  
_What am I going to do? Can I find the courage to do what Sakura-san suggested?_  
She closed her eyes and tried to find any other options, but she couldn't think of any. _But if I do this, I'll get clarity whether he likes me too of not._  
She sniffed the nice smell of forest and relaxed a bit. She thought of him. How handsome he was when he smiled, how kind he was to her. He was always kind to anybody. He had the unique gift to become friends with everyone who crossed his path. She smiled. She had noticed him long before the graduation, and watched him as he made some friends. Starting with Iruka-sensei, the chuunin teacher from the academy who seemed to understand what he was going through, being thrown away by everybody in the village. Then Sasuke-san, Sakura-san and Kakashi-sensei, his teammates and sensei, followed, and eventually they formed with team Asuma and team Kurenai -her team- the so called 'Rookie Nine'. Together they went through the chuunin exams, and also through a lot of missions, which included chasing Sasuke-san, who was heading to Orochimaru in search of power. It had broken him when he couldn't bring back his best friend and teammate, and the mission failed miserably. Afterwards he had made some attempts to retrieve him, but all of them failed. After that he'd left the village with Jiraiya-sama to train. She had secretly watched him when he left, and decided that she had to become strong if she wanted to keep up with him when he would come back again.

Some leaves swirled downwards. One of them landed on her head. It's colour reminded her of his hair. Gold. Just like that from the man who was coming her way. _Wait a sec..._ She looked more closely. Yeah, it was definitely him. _What do I do? What do I say when he comes by?_ Feverish she searched for anything, but her thoughts were interrupted.

'Hey, Hinata! What are you doing here in the woods all by yourself?'  
'N-N-Naruto-kun! Er...I...eh...I...'She felt her heartbeat raising up. _Oh please no, don't shut down now, he's talking to me!_  
'Hey Hinata, your face is pretty red, did you catch a fever or something?' he asked, clueless as ever.  
'Well I hope you'll get better soon, I need to get going now, I have to report to Tsunade-no-baachan. See you around Hinata!'  
And with that, he was gone.  
_That's it_. And she decided.


	2. Past and Present

Chapter Two

**Author notes: Mark my words; this chapter was written one year ago, when I was still in the first phase of my writing-English-development. I've edited some grammar mistakes, so it looks a little better, but still….it's not my best work. **

She felt a bit more comfortable, knowing she finally took her decision. As she stood up and walked home, raindrops started to fall down. Within seconds the rain poured down from the sky. She stood still and looked up to the sky, enjoying the feeling of the drops wetting her face. But because she didn't want to catch a cold, she hurried back to her apartment.

When she got home, she really wanted to take a nice warm bath. She pulled of her soaked clothes and stepped into the hot water. She sighed of pleasure as she felt her muscles untighten and her body relax. She watched her hair floating on the surface of the water. _It's gotten really long. I think it must be reaching my belly-button by now_. Her shiny indigo-black hair was definitely one of her beauties. As were her lavender Hyuuga-eyes. She turned a lot of heads whenever she was walking through Konoha. She never cared about that though, she only wanted one head to turn..._Yeah, keep dreaming girl_.

When should she do it? She was still a little shocked by the thought she was going to do something what she'd done in her dreams for so many times, but she needed to get used to the idea first.  
_I hope he'll react just as he always does in my dreams..._  
With that hopeful thought in her head she dried herself and went to bed.

The next morning she woke up feeling refreshed. She took a quick shower, had some breakfast and headed to the training grounds. She started with some kunai-throwing practice.  
_But how am I going to do it?_  
She hit the target.  
_If I just wait on an occasion to arise, I'll probably be waiting forever._  
Hit again.  
_And what if I can't muster the courage?_  
Another hit.  
_What if he hates me afterwards?  
Oh, you fool,_ she said to herself,_ he would never hate a fellow Konoha ninja.  
But he'll still look at me differently._  
Fighting with her inner self she threw the rest of the kunai all at once. Tk-tk-tk-tk-tk-tk they did as they all hit the target right in the middle.  
_I have to become stronger._

The sun was setting and she was breathing heavily. She had spent the whole morning and afternoon at the training grounds working on her Jyuuken style. The wooden puppets she trained with were showing some serious signs of wear.  
Wham! She hit the chest of the puppet with the palm of her hand, spun around quickly and hit it with her other hand.  
A sound of splintering wood echoed over the training area as she kicked the puppet through the air. It landed with a smash, cracking into pieces.  
_I think I might have overdone that last kick a little._  
She gave a glance over the area, where the remains of the wooden puppet and some other severly damaged puppets lay. She had never been able to cause so much damage while training. _There might be a slight chance I've gotten a little stronger since the chuunin exams._

flashback  
A punch to the chest. They were standing still, holding their position.  
Naruto watched with his eyes wide-open. Every living soul in the building was watching this fight.  
A heartbeat started raising. Blood dripped on Neji's arm.  
'So this was the best the head family could do.'  
Blood was slowly streaming down from the corners of her mouth. _I'm not done yet_.  
She hit his arm away from her chest and wanted to attack again, but he gripped her arm and pushed two fingers on her skin. Her vision blurred and she had trouble keeping her byakugan active. She panted for breath.  
Neji pulled the sleeve of her hoodie back and red spots all over her arm were revealed. She panicked.  
'Did you...So you were..'  
'Correct, my eyes can see the chakra holes' he said. and with that he hit her chest with tremendous force. She flew backwards and hit the ground hard.  
Naruto took a sharp breath.  
'Hinata-sama, this is the difference between our unchangeable powers. It's the difference that separates the elites from the dropouts.'  
She lied on the ground, breathing heavily, and turned her face to him.  
'This is the unchangeable reality' he continued, 'you were destined to regret this when you said you didn't want to run away. You should be in despair right now.' He walked up to her. 'This is your last chance. Give up.'  
She pulled herself up a little. 'I'm...' She formed her hands into fists.  
Neji's eyebrows raised.  
More blood dripped on the ground as she tried to stand up.  
'I'm...not going to...take back...'  
Neji was really confused now.  
'...my...'  
'Hinata...' Naruto whispered.  
'...words...That's my nindo, my way of the ninja...' she said weakly but determined.  
Neji gritted his teeth.  
She glanced at Naruto again, as if she was seeking for courage to hold on.  
'I didn't know Hinata was so tough...' Naruto said to his comrades standing next to him.  
'She's actually very similar to you, Naruto-kun', Lee said.  
Yeah, she has always been watching you', Sakura added.  
_Hinata..._ he thought.  
Both Hyuuga activated their byakugan again.  
'Come' Neji said provocative, taking his fighting position.  
But she couldn't. She gripped to her chest and let out a scream of pain. More blood flew down her mouth on the ground.  
Naruto inhaled sharply.  
_His attack struck my chakra holes and completely stopped my flow of chakra_. She was now unable to use Jyuuken moves which force chakra into the enemy. _I'm done for_.  
Naruto looked around. He could tell from the faces of the other persons present that they had all given up on Hinata, and it pissed him of.  
'Hinata', he yelled. 'Do your best!'  
She looked at him in surprise. _Naruto-kun..._  
Neji watched her running towards him. _Power has returned to her eyes..._he thought.  
She prepared to fight while running.  
_I have watched you all this time_.  
They got into combat again.  
_I have been watching you for so many years..._  
She directed a punch at her cousin.  
_I wonder why..._  
Neji tried to hit her again, but she quickly stepped aside and his fist only contacted with air.  
_I don't know why, but..._  
They kept blocking each others attacks.  
_...when I watch Naruto-kun..._  
They forced each other to use nothing but defensive moves.  
_...I feel more courage within me. It makes me feel as if I can accomplish something if I try. As if I am worth something._  
She came to him, preparing her fist to contact with his body, but Neji dodged it and hit her so hard she flew through the air.  
'Hinata!' Naruto screamed, leaning over the balustrade that kept him aside.  
Fortunately she managed to land on her feet. But suddenly a wave of pain went through her chest and she almost choked.  
_Naruto-kun, I have only been watching you..._ She ran to Neji again.  
_But I...I finally..._ She prepared an attack._ Naruto-kun!_ she screamed in her head.  
But Neji dodged her attack before she even tried and forcefully slammed his hand on her heart.  
Time seemed to slow.  
She coughed, spitting out blood.  
As in slow motion, she fell to the ground, her byakugan still active.  
Naruto felt anger raising up in him.  
Neji looked at his cousin laying on the ground. 'You are such a stubborn person. Your attacks had no effect on me to begin with. It's over.' And he deactivated his byakugan.  
Naruto's eyes narrowed of anger, and he gritted his teeth.  
'I assume she cannot fight anymore' the proctor announced.  
'Don't stop the match!' a voice shouted. Everybody looked surprised to the blond haired boy.  
'Don't stop the match!' he screamed again.  
'What are you talking about, bakaa!' Sakura yelled. 'She cannot fight anymore! She fainted!' But the look on Naruto's face made her lowering her voice and she turned her face to Hinata. 'What?'  
Everybody gasped. Was this actually happening? How could it be...?  
She was trying to pull herself up, and shaking heavily she got on her feet, barely able to remain her balance. She held her hand to her chest in pain.  
'Why did you stand up?' Neji asked annoyed, sweat running down his face. 'If you push yourself, you're really going to die!'  
'I can't...show such an unsightly scene...in front of the person I admire...'  
Neji got angry. 'Why?'  
'...who has finally looked at me...' she said with a determined look in her eyes.  
Naruto nodded to her almost proudly, as if he was saying 'you're doing well Hinata!'  
The Hyuuga genius activated his bloodline limit again as she stumbled to him, still holding her hand to her heart.  
'There's no point in acting tough. You're barely able to stand up. I can tell with these eyes that you have carried the destiny known as the Hyuuga Family. You cursed your powerlessness and blamed yourself. But people cannot change. This is destiny. There's no need to suffer, let yourself go.'  
She shook her head. 'You're wrong, Neji-nii-san. Because I can see...that you are suffering more then me.'  
'What?'  
'You're the one who is confused and suffering from the fate of the head and the branch family.'  
This really pissed Neji of. He ran at her, screaming of anger, as if he finally let out all the anger that had been building up in him for years.  
'Neji-kun, the match has ended!' the proctor yelled to him.  
But he didn't stop.  
A poof of smoke, and three jounins appeared, holding him back.  
'Why did the other jounins came out?' he yelled. 'Does the head family receive special treatment?'  
She felt her heart shrivelling up. Pain rushed through her entire body. She coughed and collapsed.  
Naruto, Lee and Sakura jumped down and ran towards her. Naruto kneeled down next to her. 'Hinata, are you okay?' he asked, really worried.  
No response.  
'Hey!'  
'Naruto-kun..' she whispered.  
'Yeah..?'  
'I...'  
Naruto looked at her with his eyes focused on her.  
She whispered something unintelligible.  
He leaned a little bit forward to hear her better.  
She could feel herself slip away. _Was I...Was I able to change a little?_  
Naruto watching her was the last thing she saw before her eyes closed, and she lost consciousness.  
end flashback (finally)

She smiled as she recalled that memory. Ever since that fight, it felt as if Neji-nii-san finally started to respect her a little. He still called her Hinata-sama, but it sounded like he actually ment it now. She was glad to see that the relationship with her cousin had gotten a bit better.

Suddenly she felt a presence getting closer to her. Her adrenaline-level raised and she prepared to fight, activating her bloodline limit.  
'Hinata-sama' a calm, familiar voice said. _Wow, speaking of the devil..._  
'Hokage-sama summons your presence right away.'  
'Hai' she said, immediately on her way to the Hokage-office.  
Neji took a look at the training ground. _When did she become this strong?_ he wondered as he saw the devastated puppets spread over the area, hand and foot prints all over them.

She ran into the office. 'You wanted to see me, Hokage-sama?'  
'Ah, Hinata, you're here' Tsunade said as she looked up from her paperwork. 'I have a very important mission for you. I want you to go to the Land of Water and find these herbs for me' she said as she handed her a paper with more details about the herbs. 'They're very rare so they're hard to find. Besides that there's also the possibility you will run into some missing nin's, because the region were the herbs are located is also an area where a lot of missing nins are hiding.'  
'B-but Tsunade-sama?'  
'What is it?'  
'I-Isn't this A-ranked then?'  
'Yes. What about it? Do you think you can't handle it?'  
She kept silent.  
'Don't worry about it, Hinata. You're not going alone. Your partner should arrive any minute now.'

The door swayed open and a squall flew through the office, which caused the papers on the desk to flie through the air, showing some lottery tickets hidden underneath them.  
'I'm sorry I'm late Tsunade-no-baachan!' somebody shouted.  
She turned around slowly. There stood her partner. _W-What?...I-Is this actually h-happening?_ The shock caused her to stutter even in her thoughts. _Blond hair...piercing blue eyes..._  
'I already told you not to call me that...Naruto!' Tsunade yelled.  
And everything went black.


	3. Just a Friendly Date

Author note: Good grace, do I hate this chapter

Chapter Three

**Author note: Good grace, do I hate this chapter. Please ignore it and look straight at the storyline that's unfolding a little. Look at the picture I'm painting, not the words I do it with, they're horrible. **

**To reply to some reviews I've received: no, I won't stop submitting it here; and no, I cannot change what will be happening since the whole story has already been written, so comments thereon would be rather useless. **

**So enjoy reading!**

'Hey Hinata, you okay?' she heard him asking.  
She slowly opened up her eyes. 'W-What happened?'  
'I told you Naruto was going to join you on your mission and then you just passed out' Tsunade said.  
She sat up and saw a grinning Naruto standing next to her. She felt her head heating up from the shame. _There he is, going on a mission with me, and I faint again_.  
Luckily it didn't seem like he understood that he was the reason for her fainting. _As always._  
'Well then, I suggest you two go pack and leave tomorrow morning' Tsunade said. 'Hinata will explain the mission on the way, Naruto.'

'Hey Hinata...' he said as they were walking back from the Hokage Office.  
'Y-Yes Naruto-kun?'  
'Do you…do you want to go get some ramen with me?' he asked, blushing a little.  
_Did he just ask what I think he asked?_ 'Th-That sounds nice, Naruto-kun..'  
'I mean it's not like a real date or something, it's just a friendly date, right?'  
'O-Of course..' she said, a little disappointed.  
'I just thought, since we're going on a mission together, I might as well get to know you better...'  
'O-Okay..'

'Old man, gimme a big bowl of miso pork ramen, dattebayo!' he shouted to the shopowner, all happy at the perspective of a nice, hot bowl of his favourite food.  
'M-Me too, but make it a medium, please..'  
For just a little while, they were quiet, waiting on their orders.  
_Say something! Get rid of this silence!_ She searched for anything, anything to say. But then, just like that time in the forest, her thoughts got interrupted by a certain man.  
'So, how have you been lately?'

They talked about their recent missions and asked questions about each other. They laughed together and enjoyed each others company, and she could feel herself relax as she grew a little more comfortable around him.  
The shopowner smiled as he sneakily listened to their conversation. _I wonder if you have noticed yet, Naruto-kun..._

The moment came they both had to go home. It was quite late already, and she hoped her father wouldn't be mad at her because she had been out for so late.  
'I'll pay for your ramen Hinata' he said, handing over the money to Ayame.  
'Th-that's very kind of you, Naruto-kun.'  
'You know, Hinata...'  
'Y-Yes?'  
'You don't have to add the honorific to my name. Just Naruto is fine..'  
'Okay Naruto-k...Naruto..'  
He smiled to her and her stomach fluttered. _He's just so cute when he smiles..._

'Well, here you are.'  
'Thanks for taking me home...Naruto...'  
'You learn fast Hinata' he said smiling. 'And you're welcome. Besides, you only live a few apartments next to mine, so it wasn't a big bother for me, tebayo.'  
She blushed a little when he mentioned the apartments; it wasn't just good fortune she was living so close to her favourite blond ninja...

flashback  
'No. No. No!' Hiashi yelled at his eldest daughter. 'How many times do I have to tell you; you are the Hyuuga Heiress, you can't live anywhere else than in the main household!'  
'B-but father...' she stammered. She hated it when somebody yelled at her, it made her nervous and caused her stuttering to get even worse than it already was.  
'No! I am the head of this clan, so you shall do as I say. And if I say you will stay here, you will stay!'  
'But-'  
'Let me ask you this question: do you still want to be the heiress of our clan?'  
'O-of course, but-'  
'Then act like it! As a heiress, you just don't have all the privileges other people have. You are the successor of the main branch, that means you have certain obligations to your clan. You can't just abandon it to live on your own. You'll have to take the responsibility Hinata' he said, a little calmer now, and he started to walk away from her, back to the training grounds, not aware that somebody was listening to their conversation.  
'B-but-'  
'I will hear no 'but's Hinata, I have deci-'  
'L-let me finish this father!'  
Hiashi turned around in disbelief. This was the first time she had ever dared to interrupt him.  
'I-I think I first need to learn to t-take responsibility for myself, so I'll be able to take responsibility for my clan..'  
He knew she had a point, although he wouldn't give her that.  
'Besides that, what if some high-ranked criminals tried to abduct you to examine our bloodline limit? You're still to weak to protect yourself against them.'  
She was about to give up, as she heard a voice from behind.  
'I do not agree with you over that Hiashi.'  
'Hokage-sama!'  
A few hours later she stood in the Hokage's Office. 'So that's it then', Tsunade said, 'I arranged an apartment for you close to the Hyuuga's main building, so you won't be living to far from your clan.' She handed her a note with the address on it. 'And I think you'll be pleased with the location...' she added with a mysterious look on her face.  
end flashback

They were standing at her front door. The sun started to set. The golden light shining on his hair and face made him look like he just came down from heaven. She melted. She couldn't do anything but getting lost in his eyes as he was looking into hers.  
_Will I do it now? Or will it ruin the moment? Oh I feel like I want to swim in those eyes..._she thought, but she realized to late she had said that last part out loud. She felt herself shrivelling up and her face was taking a colour tomato-like.  
'Huh? Were you saying something Hinata?'  
She sighed in relief. _Phew, luckily he couldn't hear it. Oh why did I had to say that out loud?_  
'N-No it's nothing. Thanks again f-for taking me home, Naruto, I appreciate it' she said smiling a little.  
'You should do that more often, you know.'  
'D-do what?'  
'Smile'  
Her eyes widened. One of her fantasies just came true. She had trouble not to faint.  
'Well anyway, I guess I should go home. See ya tomorrow Hinata!' he said waving and walked away.

That night, he couldn't sleep very well. He thought about his day. About her. _What was that just then...? She was looking so intense into my eyes. She's so weird. I can't deny she's got gorgeous eyes though, and that smile of hers...not to mention the rest of her bo-..Stop!! I will not think of her that way! It's Hinata! HI-NA-TA! She's that dark, timid, weird person who always blushes and stutters when I try to talk to her_. He grumbled and shook up his pillow. _I should really get some sleep now, I have a mission tomorrow, dattebayo._  
He closed his eyes and fell asleep within minutes, not knowing that a small seed was planted in his heart.

That night, she couldn't sleep very well. _He thinks I have an nice smile! He thinks I have a nice smile! He thinks I have a nice smile! He thinks I-..oh boy, I'm just hopeless. He only said I need to smile more often, that doesn't mean he likes me! But at the other hand, he did ask me out. Oh, wait, he said it was just a friendly date._ But she wondered if he actually meant that. _It could have been that he chickened out at the last moment, or didn't want to ruin the fragile friendship there is...Oh come on, who am I kidding? Doesn't he always say things the way he means them? But why was he blushing when he asked me to have ramen with him? Does he...like me? No way, when he liked Sakura it was pretty obvious, so I guess it wouldn't be any different if he liked me. But I still can't figure out why he blushed..._  
She sighed, rolled over to her other side and threw the blanket off of her.  
_But it's not like it's impossible for him to like me. He said it himself that time on the training grounds, right before the start of third exam. 'I really like people like you Hinata..' Yeah, that's what he said. _  
She felt her cheeks redden. Whenever she recalled that, she immediately started blushing all over her body.  
_But he said it when he still liked Sakura, so he couldn't have meant it that way..  
Still, does it mean-.._ Stop it! she cut herself off. _That was years ago...it's not relevant anymore. For now, I should just go to sleep. I have a mission with him coming up and I want to be as fit as possible._

A silver moon was watching through her window as she fell asleep, her silky hair spread all over the pillow, moonbeams kissing her skin. A shooting star was about to fulfil a wish...

**Author note: Good grace, do I hate this chapter. Please ignore it and look straight at the storyline that's unfolding a little. Look at the picture I'm painting, not the words I do it with, they're horrible. **

**To reply to some reviews I've received: no, I won't stop submitting it here; and no, I cannot change what will be happening since the whole story has already been written, so comments thereon would be rather useless. **

**(I'm saying this twice since half of you have probably skipped the author note above, and the other half will skip this one. XD)**


	4. Ignition

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

**Author note: does anyone actually read this??**

The wind blew. Golden leaves were carried with it, the same type of gold as the hair of the young man waiting at the gates of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.  
The wind blew some leaves in his face. He pushed them away.

He saws somebody running to him from a distance. He focused his eyes. It was early in the morning, and the sun was still low in the sky. The sunbeams shone in his eyes, so he could only see the outlines of the approaching person. He narrowed his eyes a little more, holding his hands above them, trying to see if it was her.

'I-I'm sorry I'm late N-Naruto...'  
'Don't worry! I was only waiting for a few minutes so you weren't that late. In fact, I was late myself because the microwave broke down this morning so I couldn't warm up the instant ramen so I had to go to Ichiraku's to have breakfast but I forgot my money so I had to go back and..' and so he went on and on.  
She smiled. _Only he could put so many words in one sentence without tripping over them..._  
'...and then I came running here, and you showed up only minutes after that.'  
She nodded.  
'W-Well, I guess we should go...'

The leaves were rustling in the trees as two Konoha ninja jumped from branch to branch, barely leaving a trace.  
'How long will it take us to get to the Land of Water?'  
'I-I think about two days.'  
'Hmm that's an awful long period of time dattebayo. I'd rather spend those two days to train. Why is this mission to important anyway?' he grumbled.  
_Great, he'd rather train than spend time with me on a mission..._ Her heart sunk into her chest.  
'Well, Tsunade-sama t-told me to explain the mission on the way, so...It's our assignment to find a certain herb in the forests of the Land of Water. It's a very rare herb, called a 'Lavender Tear', and Tsunade-sama's information says it's only found deep in the forests.'  
Because he was behind her, she couldn't see his face, and she felt her stuttering decreasing while talking to him. 'It seems to grow well in places where moonlight has full access, therefore it blooms when it's a full moon and dies when it's a new moon. Since it was a full moon last week, we'll have to be quick and find it before it dies.'  
'But why do we have to find it?' he asked  
'I-It is believed to have great healing powers, so Tsunade-sama probably wants to examine it.'  
He kept silent, satisfied with the answer.  
'B-But we'll have to be careful, because the forests are good hiding places for missing nins and other criminals, and if we get into a fight, the Lavender Tear might be harmed, so we'll have to avoid them.'  
He nodded, mostly to himself, watching the dark-haired kunoichi gracefully moving forward through the woods.

They had been travelling for more then twelve hours now, and the sun was already setting. Her legs had been aching since a few hours, but now they really hurt. Her empty stomach wasn't doing any good either.  
'N-Naruto...?'  
'Yeah?'  
'I-Is it a good idea if we pitch up our camp and f-find something to eat?'  
'Already? But I'm not tired at all! I could go on for hours like this!'  
But a few minutes later, she just couldn't go any further, and she stopped moving. She was breathing heavily as her knees could no longer hold her weight.  
When he heard the noise he quickly turned around and jumped towards her.  
'Hinata! Are you okay?' he asked worried.  
'I-I'm sorry Naruto, I'm just out of energy.'  
'No, Hinata, I'm sorry, I should have noticed you were tired' he said smiling kindly.  
'Well, since you can't go further, let's find a place to spend the night.'  
She could feel his every touch as he helped her to her feet and supported her while jumping from tree to tree.  
After a little while, they found an open spot, close to a stream.  
'How about here?' he asked, his face covered with his famous grin.

It was dark already. The camp was pitched up: one small tent for him and one for her. She didn't mind they were sleeping in separate tents, because the nightwear she had brought was very small and very, very shine-through. All her other pyjamas were thrown in the laundry when she was packing, so she had no other choice._ It's very embarrassing, actually, to be forced to wear such a...slutty thing... _She never felt comfortable wearing clothing that didn't leave anything to one's imagination, especially not with him around.  
She sighed and decided to do something about the campfire, while he was gone to the stream to catch some fish for dinner. She took the tinderbox out of her backpack and did several attempts to light up a fire._ Hey, why isn't it working? The branches are dry, I checked it myself... _She tried again, and failed again. _This is ridiculous, I've done this a thousand times while I was on mission with Shino-kun and Kiba-kun, so why won't it work? Am I nervous because this is an mission with Naruto? That would be reasonable if he was sitting next to me and watching my every move, but he isn't even around here! _  
She was so busy figuring out why she couldn't make a fire, she didn't hear the footsteps coming at her.  
'Hey I'm back! he shouted, startling her, and held up two big fish. 'Oh did I scare you?'  
'N-No it's fine, I was just thinking.'  
'That must've been some pretty deep thinking then dattebayo, if I scared you like that hehe. Anyway, how's the fire doing?'  
'W-Well, i-it's not really working..'  
'Let me help you then.' He sat down next to her and took her hands in his. Her heart skipped a few beats. 'Just rub them gently, but forcefully', he said, and while he did that, holding her hands, a spark was formed.  
As well as she could see the spark, she could feel it. But it wasn't just a spark, it felt as if an electrical storm was rushing through her body, while he was so close to her. She was surprised her heart didn't stop beating from the shock caused by the fire lit in her.  
'There, you see? It's actually very easy...' he said smiling as the fire ignited, and took two branches to hold the fish into the newborn fire.  
_Great, now he's laughing at me... _

They talked a little while roasting their fish, and she thought about how it would be under other circumstances. This place just breathed romance, with the trees surrounding them, little golden fireflies flying around them, a small fire lighting up their faces and silver moonlight reflected in the gurgling stream a few yards away.  
'...and then I said 'you bet I will!' and I punched him in the stomach with my clone and he went like 'AAAAAH!' and...hey are you listening?'  
'Oh Y-Yes, I'm sorry, I just spaced out a bit', she said giggling a little, and he continued his story. For now, she would keep her fantasies to herself. Although it certainly was the place, it just wasn't the right time yet to do what she had in mind.

He yawned. 'I think we should call it a day, I'm pretty tired. How about you?'  
'Th-that's a good idea, we'll have to get up early tomorrow, so...' Although her energy had returned to her after having dinner and sitting by a nice hot fire, she could still use some sleep.  
He stood up and walked to his tent. 'Well then, goodnight Hinata!'  
'Goodnight Naruto' she said, and headed to her tent after putting out the fire.

She sat down on her sleepingbag and searched in her backpack for her nightwear. _Ah, there it is.. _She held it against her body. _Oh no, it's even smaller than I thought!_ It was a white dress made of silk, that barely reached halfway her thighs. _If we weren't sleeping in separate tents, I really would have been in trouble.._  
She changed into the little white dress and looked down at her body. It really showed every curve and every line.  
_Why did I buy this again?_

She lay down on her bed, wishing she hadn't thrown her light purple pyjamas in the laundry along with the others the day she had to pack. Luckily it wasn't a very cold night, so she wouldn't have to spend the night shivering in her sleeping bag and chattering her teeth.  
She wrapped herself up in her sleeping bag and wondered if he was already asleep._ Probably. He was the first one to fall asleep during our Bikouchuu-mission...It didn't matter how hard he had shouted he wasn't tired, as soon as his head had touched his pillow, he had left this earth.  
I should follow his example..._  
She turned over to her other side and tried to fall asleep.

A few hours later, he still wasn't asleep. _Gah, this is so annoying! I need to get going early tomorrow morning, so I need my rest!_ He punched his pillow and threw his blankets off. _Come on, come on, fall asleep, fall asleep, fall asleep dattebayo!_, he thought, squeezing his eyelids.  
One minute went by, two minutes, three...  
_This isn't working... _He sighed. _Maybe a walk in the night air will do me some good..._

A moment later he stood in the open air, sniffing in the freshness of it. He looked up, it was a clear sky tonight, and the stars were shimmering as if they were winking to him. As if they knew a secret so hidden, only stars can know.  
He looked to Hinata's tent. He listened closely, trying to hear if there were any noises coming from her direction, but it was all quiet around the kunoichi's tent. _Just as I thought...she isn't a snoring type..._  
He decided to go to the stream where he'd caught the fish that evening, he remembered there was a small waterfall located over there.  
_Maybe the soothing sound of flowing water will calm my mind so I'll be able to sleep..._  
Suddenly he heard sounds that immediately alarmed him. And they were coming from the waterfall's direction...


	5. You Are So Dense

Chapter Five

**Author note: Since today (October 18****th****) was my birthday, I decided to update sooner than anticipated, as a little birthday gift to my readers here. Enjoy!**

He started running in the direction of where the sound came from. His adrenaline-level raised significantly, as well as his heartbeat. He gripped a kunai out of the holder and held it in front of him, running, ready to defend himself as soon as somebody attacked him.

He got closer and closer to where the sound came from, but then...He stopped running. He had reached the stream, and the sound of the waterfall thundered in his ears. The same thundering sound he had heard when he was catching fish that evening. But there was something different to it. He walked nearer to the waterfall, trying to figure out what that difference was.

He twitched his ears as he tried to distinguish the noise coming from the waterfall from the noise that was added to it.

He narrowed his eyes. He could swear he saw something.

There it was again! A dark shadow appeared behind the rain of water that was falling down. But as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared again. Still, the sounds that had alarmed him earlier were without a doubt coming from whatever it was that hid behind the waterfall.  
He sneaked to the bushes, trying to get a better view at the thing.

Suddenly a change in the atmosphere.  
His eyes widened as he witnessed the most beautiful sight ever seen.  
There, at the foot of the waterfall, the shadow appeared. He could see it clearly now.  
It? Her!  
The outlines of the creature were sharply shown against the moonlight reflected by the waterfall. She was definitely the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on.

The womanly creature started to move. And the way she moved...it was more like dancing...  
Such elegance...  
She seemed weightless as she touched the surface of the water with what seemed to be only her toes.  
She moved her arms around her, and the water flew into the air, following every move she made. It was as if her fingers were connected with the water, controlling it.  
She made another move, shooting the water upwards, far into the night sky, where it exploded in countless little drops. The moonlight shone through them and changed them into little diamonds, spreading rays of light in every imaginable colour.

He held his breath, not wanting to disturb the fairy-like dance in any possible way.

She started spinning around on the tip of her right feet, her arms above her head, her eyes focused on the stars. The water whirled around her with enormous speed, changing into a waterspout and growing bigger and bigger with every time she spun around.  
Suddenly some water separated itself from the spout and evolved slowly into sharp needles of water. Another move of the beautiful creature. The water needles were shot in every direction.

He woke up from his trance as he saw a few needles coming directly in his direction with an alarming speed. He tried to move his body out of their way, but he failed. The needles were about to change his head into a pin-cushion, as he could finally move. Just in time to dodge them. One of them escaped though, and scratched his right cheek, creating a small cut.  
But the jolt from the sudden attack still echoed through his body and he fell backwards, with his behind right upon a husk of a chestnut.

'Aaaargh!' A scream resounded through the woods. He ran out of the forest, rubbing his bottom with both hands.  
The moment he realized he wasn't exactly hiding his presence, it already was too late. The woman was nowhere to be seen. The only evidence she had been there was the surface of the water, still gushing where she had placed her feet.

Early sunlight tickled her eyes through a small hole in the tent, waking her. She yawned and sat up in her sleeping bag. She was still rubbing the sleeping crust out of her eyes, as she heard some noise outside her tent. She was immediately alarmed. _It can't be Naruto, he's never up this early...it must be some enemy!_  
She gripped a kunai and ran out of her tent, ready to attack whoever was disturbing the camp's peace.

_Wait...that's not an enemy..._She saw a young man sitting by the fireplace, leaning against a treestump. His blond hair was hanging over his eyes. She couldn't see if he was sleeping or not.  
Suddenly he lifted up his head. 'Oh! You're...a..wa..ke...' His face slowly turned tomato-red, his eyes stuck in a gaze.  
_Why is he looking at me like that...Do I look weird or something?_  
She looked down at her body.  
_Oh my g-!_ She quickly wrapped her arms around her body, trying to cover it where her small white dress obviously failed. _Oh why didn't I have a quick look at myself before I ran out of the tent like crazy?!_  
Her face turned as red as his, if she wasn't surpassing him.  
'I'm sorry! I wasn't intending to...I-I didn't want to...' he stammered, quickly turning his head away, his eyes squeezed together.  
'I-It's okay, it's not your fault...' she said, staring at her feet. 'I-I guess I'll go change..'

A little while later, he was at the stream again. He didn't particularly like fish for breakfast , he'd rather have ramen. But since they didn't know whether their victuals would be enough or not, they had to grip every chance to preserve their food supply for times that there wouldn't be a stream or something to provide food.  
He sighed. He couldn't believe this was the same place where he had seen that nymph last night. It was all quiet now -except from the waterfall-noise of course-, there was no clue at all she had ever been here, dancing,  
The moment she had disappeared, he'd felt some sort of emptiness in his heart, as if he'd lost something. _She was so beautiful..._  
After he'd walked back to the camp, he couldn't sleep anymore. Not like he could before he went taking a walk, but still. He thought it to be useless to go back to his tent, dawn would be breaking in a few hours anyway. He'd sat down by the fireplace, dozing a bit, waiting for Hinata to wake up.  
He sighed again, wondering if the girl would appear once more tonight. He wouldn't be able to watch her again though, because they would be moving on soon after breakfast.  
He summoned a clone and send him into the water to catch some fish.  
Shortly after that a fish got thrown out of the water. He quickly threw a kunai, clinching the fish to a tree at the opposite side of the stream. _Gotcha! Let's see if I can do that with my eyes closed hehe. _

A little while later, she was done changing and was cleaning up the camp a bit while he had gone to the stream,  
Atsjie! She sneezed. Tsjie! Again. _Am I getting a cold? Well, that's just what I needed...I hope it wasn't from last night..._  
She decided to make a fire to roast the fish. She lit it up gently but forcefully, just like he taught her. It ignited immediately.

Ka..a..tsja! He sneezed. Atsja! Again. _Hey, did I catch a cold? Hmm, probably from last night...  
Well, I got enough fish now, time to go back. _  
He made his clone disappear and headed back to the camp, enjoying the sunlight warming his face and the soothing sound of rustling leaves. Suddenly he noticed something. There was another trail of footprints next to the one he was creating right now. It was different size, smaller than his. He could see from the depth of the prints that is wasn't a heavy person, probably a woman. The prints were also covered in dew, so they had to be left behind last night. But the most interesting thing about them was...they were leading from the stream straight to the camp.  
_Hmm, that's weird, the only woman who knows where our camp is pitched up is Hinata, but she has been at the camp the whole time, so it can't possibly be her..._  
But the fish in his hands and his grumbling stomach reminded him he had to get back to the camp, and, for now, he left the footprints-mystery for what it was...


	6. Outbreak

Chapter Six

**Author note: sorry for the delay, I've been sick. Anyway, here you go, and enjoy!  
And a little remark concerning the fake mission Hinata mentions, that was in episode 175-176.**

Splash, splash! it sounded as she stepped into the river, the water reaching to her ankles. Her feet hurt terribly and her eyes were exhausted from using her byakugan so much, causing a huge headache as well. She closed her eyes, giving them some rest, and focused on the relieving effect the cool water had on her aching feet.  
They had arrived in the Country of Water two days ago and had been searching ever since. She was a little frustrated she still hadn't found a chance to carry out her secret 'mission', because they decided to go separated from each other, searching systematically, thus raising the chance to find the Lavender Tear. _We will have to hurry though, tonight is a new moon..._ She wondered if they would make it in time. She didn't really care whether or not they would find it, but she couldn't stand the prospect of him being sad if the mission failed. _If only this forest wasn't so wide, it would make it so much easier to complete this mission..._Even Naruto had started to complain after two whole days of non-stop searching, except for some sleep at night and the necessary meals.  
'Maybe Tsunade-no-baachan just pulled some sort of practical joke on us, to get me back for calling her 'baachan' and stuff...' he'd said. He could perfectly imagine Tsunade screaming with laughter, drooling all over her desk, punching with her fist on the desk, pointing at him, screaming 'Gotcha!' and just dying from laughter.  
'W-Well, she gave us a fake mission before, b-but I don't think she would do that again, besides, why…why would she include me in such a mission if it's just to get back on you?' she'd answered.  
'Hmmm, I guess you're right dattebayo...' and he had walked back to his searching area, his arms held behind his head, his famous I-knew-that-pose.  
She sighed. It was time to finish her little break and go search again. 'Byakugan!' she whispered, and she disappeared into the forest...not noticing she was being watched.

It's the third day since they had started their quest. We see the endless woods covering the inland of the Land of Water. We zoom in a little. We see a river crossing through the woods. We zoom in some more. We see a small open space in the woods. We see a young woman standing on the branch of a tree. She seems to be concentrated on something.

_Come on, come on, I have to find it! If we don't find it before the night falls, this mission fails!_ She concentrated more, trying to see more detail with her byakugan._ Well, it won't be the first time my mission fails...And it probably won't be the last either..._Her byakugan-sight faded a little.  
Suddenly, a wave of pain rushed through her head, causing her sight to be totally darkened for a moment or two. She screamed in pain._ I must have used my byakugan too much, I've crossed my limit._  
She sat down against the tree and started to cry. She felt like a total failure, she couldn't do anything now. She couldn't use her byakugan, couldn't complete the mission, couldn't help the man she loved. She covered her face in her arms, hugging her knees. She couldn't do anything, she was worthless, just like her father had said.  
'Hey...why're you crying Hinata? What's wrong?' a gentle voice said softly.  
She looked up, and saw a concerned Naruto kneeling before her, causing the branch whereon they sat to bend over a little.  
'Is there something wrong?' he asked again. 'I heard you screaming. Are you hurt?'  
'I..I...eh...ehm...I...' _I can't even talk properly!_  
'It's okay, you can tell me..' he said, trying to sooth her by placing his hand on her shaking shoulders. However, this only led to more confusion within her mind.  
'Please tell me Hinata, did somebody hurt you?'  
'N-No...it's not that...It's just...I'm very tired...I think I used my byakugan so much I reached my limit...Now I can't help you anymore...I'm a failure, Naruto, a failure!' she almost screamed out that last sentence as she broke down to tears again.

Failure...  
The word clung in the air, stuck in his mind, although it wasn't the first time he heard it...

'Don't say that!! Don't say that ever again Hinata!! It's the furthest away from true I can think of!!' He didn't mean to yell, especially not at her, especially not now, but he couldn't help it.  
'You are absolutely not a failure! In fact, you're one of the most brave people I know! You dared to stand up against the ones who thought of you as weak and worthless, and managed to change yourself!' He started to speak a little softer. 'You became stronger Hinata! I know it!'  
He fell silent, breathing heavier due to this sudden outburst. A squall pulled some leaves in his face. He pushed them away, looking into the lavender eyes of the kunoichi sitting in front of him...

_Does he...mean that? He...does not think I'm weak? He...thinks I'm brave? He...actually noticed I've changed a little?_  
This sudden 'confession' was all she ever wanted to hear from him. (Well...mostly.) She now knew for sure he had noticed her, and her change. This meant so much to her. She felt the tears welling up in her eyes again, not being able to express her happiness in any other way.

He saw her tear-filled eyes and shocked expression. He panicked, mistaking her tears of happiness with tears of sadness. _Oh no! She's crying because I yelled at her, now what do I do?_  
'I'm sorry Hinata, I didn't mean to yell at you, I just-'

He was interrupted by two arms swayed around his neck and a soft warm body against his. _W-what's this?_  
'Naruto...thank you...'  
'F-for what?'  
'For noticing me...'  
'N-Noticing you? Why?'

She felt her cheeks redden. This was it. Now she had to do it. A million and one thoughts raced through her head, this was the moment she had been waiting for for so long. Could...could she do it? Could...could she tell him? Could she tell him why she was always so blushy around him, and fainted whenever he touched her, even if it was accidental?

She took a deep breath.

'B-Because I...I...eh...' _... Love you._

'Because you what?'

'I...I...erm..' _...Love you!_

'What?'

'I lo-! Aah!'

Just as she almost confessed to him, the branch where on they were standing couldn't hold them anymore and broke. Producing a lot of hullabaloo, it fell down, taking the two shinobi with it. But they wouldn't be ninja, if they wouldn't be prepared for the unexpected, and they landed gracefully on their feet. Well, Hinata did...  
Naruto did land on his feet, but that was all that could be said about it.

_My, my..._a dark figure thought, peeping through the bushes. _Those brats are supposed to be my opponents? This could be fun..._  
He giggled, only audible to himself and the woods surrounding him, and he disappeared into the shadows.


	7. Find It

Chapter Seven

A goofy grin spread on his face and he brushed the dust of his clothes.  
'Hmm, didn't see that one comin' dattebayo..' he grumbled, although he didn't mean it.  
She giggled. It wasn't actually that funny, but she just didn't know how to react after that little moment they just had.

'Well, let's get back to our base camp, we need to rest. Especially you Hinata', he said softly as he turned towards her, 'I don't want you to get hurt because you crossed your limits and didn't take the time to recover.'  
'B-But we have to find the Lavend-'  
'Shhhh!' He cut her off by placing his index finger on her lips, causing her cheeks to flame up like fireballs. 'I will hear no objections, Hinata. Either you go rest, or I will make you. No mister nice guy anymore' he said with sparkling little lights in his blue eyes and held his arms over his chest.  
'B-But what about our mission, tonight is a new moon...' she asked, wishing he would cut her off the same way he did just now.  
'Hey, we got plenty of time left until the sun sets. How about we take our time to rest and then go search for that herb-thing with everything we've got to find it before it perishes?' He answered and started to walk towards the camp, his hands in his pockets.  
'B-but..' she started.  
He turned around. 'Hey Hinata?'  
'Yeah?'  
'It wasn't a question actually' he said grinning.  
She sighed and smiled. Once Naruto got something on his mind, it was pretty hard to make him let it go. She looked up to the sky. The sun was halfway her path to the other end of the endless blue sky_. I hope we'll make it in time.  
_She sniffed in the cool summerbreeze and followed Naruto's footsteps to their camp.

After a few hours of rest, she felt better again. She got out of her tent and went to the river to look for Naruto since she couldn't find him anywhere in the camp. It was late in the afternoon and leaves were rustling in the trees. She saw a silhouette sitting on shore. _There he is. _  
'Oh hey, you're awake! Are you sure you feel well enough?' he said as he turned his head to face her.  
'I think..'  
'Don't force yourself Hinata. It's very dangerous to force yourself to cross the limits of what you're capable of..' he said, a concerned look visible in his eyes. 'Kakashi-sensei once told me making sure the team survives is the first priority other than completing the mission. And since you're my team right now...' he paused, and his smile softened. '...I am to make sure you won't work yourself to death, 'tebayo...'  
She was stunned. _Since when does he care this much about me? Or am I overanalyzing this?_  
She smiled back at him for being so kind to her. It didn't happy very often somebody was this nice to her. She always got scolded at by her father for being weak and incapable of being the Hyuuga-heiress, and therefore she'd gotten very shy and unsure of herself. Of course Shino and Kiba were really nice to her, true, but in some way or another, it seemed different. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. Was it in the look in his eyes? Was it in the tone of his voice? She didn't know. But why was it different? She'd never felt it before, never noticed it before.  
But she didn't got to think about it more.  
'Well then, let's go, but don't you dare exhausting yourself like that again.' He said grinning as he started to walk towards the woods surrounding them, and not long after that being followed by her.

The day was slowly fading away, making place for what would probably be a clear night sky, and the sun was about to disappear behind the border of their visible world. The shadows of the trees surrounding her were growing longer and longer, until no one could clearly distinguish where the shadow stopped and the tree begun.  
_Focus. Focus. Focus. Find it. Find it. Find it_, she repeated in her head as some sort of mantra. The veins visibly surrounding her eyes were popping up some more as she concentrated her view. _More details. The Lavender Tear is a small herb, and hard to locate. It is mostly found in places where the moonlight has full access. Then, I must find an open space in the forest, and try my best on finding it. _

And so she jumped from tree to tree, further and further into the heart of the forest, not realizing she was straying off, and that she was nowhere near the basecamp anymore.

A mere shadow looked up to the sky. _This is it_, he thought as he saw the last sunrays disappear behind the horizon. He wrapped his cape around him and walked away, careful that he stayed within reach of the shadows.

She slowed down and looked around. It was getting darker around her. Quickly getting darker. But she wasn't worried. After all, the moon wouldn't be spreading her light this night to guide her. Her byakugan wouldn't be troubled by it though, and so she continued her search....


	8. Danger

Chapter Eight and Nine

**Author note: originally this was divided into two chapters, but since eight was pretty short, I decided to fuse it with nine. So enjoy!**

Miles away from her, Naruto was scanning his surroundings. _Where could it be? _He focused his blue eyes on every herb and plant that looked even a tiny bit like the Lavender Tear. He sighed. _This is the last chance we get on finding it, otherwise this mission has failed. And if I blow another mission, Tsunade-no-baachan is rea-hea-heally gonna spout lighting...._That prospect made him shiver; when Tsunade was mad at you, you couldn't be sure to survive...  
_Anyway, this part of my area's cleared. On to the next one dattebayo_

_Well, it's not here_, she thought as she glanced through her surroundings again after thoroughly examining it. _Let's go further._

_Yes. Yes! Almost there, my lovely purple-eyed bloodline holder. _

She felt the wind going through her long black hair as she jumped through the trees. The huge branches of the trees above her were, luckily enough, not blocking the little starlight there was, so she didn't have to use the byakugan to see where she was going  
She found another open spot. As she stood still to observe it, she felt something strange. It was as if something was very, very wrong. She opened the map she had in her backpack and looked for the open spot. _This is strange...._She looked again to be sure she was right. _This place isn't supposed to be here!_

Naruto arrived at the next part of the area and examined it thoroughly. _Nope. Again, nothing._ He sighed. _This might take a little more time then I thought._ He looked upwards to the moonless sky._ Time we do not have..._  
He narrowed his eyes. _Maybe I should check on Hinata, help her or something, my area is almost done anyway..._he thought and he jumped into the trees.

Two bright yellow eyes lit up from the darkness, spying upon the black-haired girl as a predator on its prey. He could feel it. The desire. He felt like a bucket that could overflow any minute now. _Hold on. Just hold on..._he scolded at himself. _It is not time yét. Just a few seconds or so...._

She jumped down from the tree into the middle of the open spot. She looked around her with close attention for anything moving that shouldn't be. She felt the adrenaline raising up. _Calm down Hinata! Just the fact that this place wasn't on the map doesn't mean there's something terribly wrong!_  
She activated her byakugan.

_Oh yes. You look so beautiful when you do that, my beauty, I can't wait...._

_See, there's nothing wrong. It's just a normal open spot in a normal forest. I'm seeing ghosts while I should be searching for the Tear. Great. _She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down by thinking of her handsome blonde teammate. She pictured him in her mind, with his blue eyes directed at her and his usual grin covering his face, his blond hair blown in the wind. And oh, how it worked. She felt her adrenaline-level decrease and her muscles relax a little. _Alright, off to the Tear!_ She left the open spot and went on searching.

The leaves rustled in the trees. There was something in the air, but it wasn't the wind...

The Fifth sat at her desk, sighing. _This is such a boring day..._she thought to herself. She turned her seat so she was sitting with her back against her desk, facing the sight of Konoha at almost-sunset. She tried not to think about the mountains of paperwork waiting for her, yearning to be handled. Another sigh escaped her mouth. She reached for the bottle of sake she always hid in a secret compartment of her Hokage-desk she discovered a while ago. _Ha! I wonder why such a compartment was build in in the first place. Did the previous Hokage's also had an assistant who wouldn't let someone enjoy a good bottle of sake or other 'un-Hokage-like matters'? _Tsunade laughed silently as she thought of her predecessor and sensei, the Third Hokage, hiding 'secret documents', such as naughty magazines in this desk, quickly putting them away in their hiding place as soon as someone entered the office.  
_It's a shame he's gone..._she mused and recalled the days he'd been her sensei and they had formed 'Team Sarutobi', together with Jiraiya-no-bakaa and Orochimaru-no-weirdo. Even though he hadn't really showed it, Sarutobi-sensei had always been a bit of a perv. _As Jiraiya is now, but he's like a thousand times worse...._

==============================flashback============================================================

Tsunade sighed of pleasure as she stepped into a bath of Konoha's hot springs. First one foot, then the other. She made sure her towel was fastened enough and made a spring into the hot water. SPLASH! it sounded as she disappeared underneath the surface of the water.  
As she surfaced, she spit out some water like a little fountain and pulled her hair out of her face. She swam to the edge of the pool and relaxed her muscles, still tightened from the last mission.  
She was lucky it wasn't very crowded today, so she could have a nice and quiet moment to herself.  
'Ahhhhhhhh, this is liiiiiiiiiiiiiife...' she moaned, enjoying the hot water warming her body.

Jiraiya sat at the other side of the hence, peeking through a hole in the wood, so small he could only peek with one eye. He loved days like this, a mission finished with success, and then time to relax and do what he just couldn't seem to help.  
He saw some girls coming in and walking towards the pool. They were giggling and screaming as they tried to temperature the hot water with their toes. A small towel was everything that covered their bodies.  
'It's so hot!' one of them giggled.  
_It sure is, tehe._

'Could you please be a little more quiet' he heard someone say, sounding very annoyed, 'I'm trying to relax over here'  
He looked with his one eye in the direction the voice came from. His eye widened and his face went blank.  
_Oops. I'm so dead if SHE finds out what I'm doing._  
He looked at the blonde woman, her eyes were closed, a peaceful look laying upon her face. _But darn, she's really pretty....I guess it won't hurt if I just…looked at her a little....tehehe...she won't notice..._  
The girls started to giggle again as they threw water at each other. He focused his eye on them again. Now he was the one to be giggling.  
'My, my, if you could use sexiness as oxygen, you beauties could live under water, ' Jiraiya cooed as he found inspiration for his new book.

'Just what do you think you're doing, Jiraiya?!' a woman's voice sounded from behind him. His body stiffened. He looked at the spot where Tsunade had been what seemed only seconds ago. No one to be seen. _Shit. _  
Slowly he turned around, trying to cover his panic with a wide grin. There stood a furious, dripping Tsunade, holding her towel close to her body.  
'Doing some research?' he tried, still smiling like crazy.  
'Like hell I'm gonna believe that! You were just peeking weren't you?!'  
'Hey now, 'peeking' is such a big word, let's say I was 'gathering information'.'  
'Bakaa!' She smacked him to the ground. 'You perv! Don't you have something better to do then ruining the peace of this place?!'  
'I don't think I'm the one ruining the peace...' he mumbled as he stood up again.  
'You said something?' she asked politely, but with an undertone so scary it gave him goosebumps.  
'Nonono, nothing, really, no, did I say something? I didn't say anything' he stammered, walking backwards, his arms held in front of him, close to his chest, ready to dodge the deadly punch he was now definitely going to get.  
'But I gotta say, Tsunade...' he said grinning, little blushes appearing on his cheeks, '...you look really good in just a towel...'  
A few seconds passed. Tsunade's face got redder and redder, her teeth were chattering, pure rage causing her to start shaking.  
Jiraiya sweatdropped. 'I guess I just committed suicide, didn't I...' he mumbled.  
'HELL YEAH!!' she yelled as she came at him, overflowing with her superhuman strength, her fist ready to connect with his body...

==========================end flashback==========================================================

After she discovered what he was doing when he was 'researching', she never went to a bath-house again. At least not when Jiraiya was in town. But she was pretty sure he wouldn't try to peek on her again, after all, she had slammed him right into the hospital where he had laid unconscious for weeks. And even after all those years, he would still refer to that event as 'the first time I almost died'.  
But that still didn't alter the fact that there were plenty girls left to peek on, girls who didn't have superhuman strength and didn't beat the hell out of you when you peeked on them. At least that was what he said when was leaving and she asked him what he was gonna do.  
_That hopeless pervert...Will he ever change?_ she wondered.

Shizune read the document, shocked. _This can't be. This can't be true._ She re-read it to be sure she was interpreting this the right way. ,iOh, no. She closed her eyes, forcing herself to keep thinking straight. I must report this to Tsunade-sama immediately!

Tsunade looked outside through the window. She took a swig of the sake and swallowed it slowly. She loved the burning feeling it gave in her throat.  
She could overlook the whole Village from her Hokage-office. She saw the last bit of sun struggling to stay above the horizon. It would fail eventually, she knew. But it were these moments she treasured the most; the rooftops of the Konoha-buildings were glimmering in the last sunrays. Some leaves were flying in the wind, chasing each other. The Village seemed so peaceful....  
It were these moments she was glad she had returned to and became the Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

But the moment didn't last very long.

The door swayed open and a panting Shizune was standing in the doorway. She held some papers in her hand and looked at Tsunade with a disturbed look un her face.  
'Gah, Shizune, when will you learn you'll have to knock when you enter a Hokage's office? You scared the hell out of me!' Tsunade exclaimed, more worried about this sudden alarming entrance of her apprentice then mad about the harsh interruption of her thoughts.  
'I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama, but you háve to read this!'


	9. Approach of the Scary Man

Chapter Ten

_Shwooooosh, shwooooosh_, blew the wind in his ears as Naruto jumped through the trees. _Tsjak!_ It sounded as the bottoms of his feet touched the branches.

It was just about an hour before midnight. The Lavender Tear was already fading, she knew. _But there's still some time left, as long as it hasn't died yet. _She began to grow a little more optimistic as she realized they had already searched through almost the whole forest. There was little space left they hadn't gone through yet, so the chance of finding it was getting greater and greater every time she left another open spot empty-handed.  
She began to feel thirsty. She stopped for a moment and pulled a bottle filled with water from the small stream nearby their camp, out of her backpack. She placed it upon her lips and started drinking.  
A few drops escaped and ran down her chin, where they slowed down and fell on the ground. She put the bottle away and wiped her chin off with the sleeve of her hoody.  
She looked around. _There is something strange with this place..._

_She is starting to realize it. Finally, I have been waiting so long for this moment, now I get to have my victory at last! _  
The feeling of pure euphoria was almost causing him to laugh out loud. He had to hold it in for just another moment, though; he couldn't reveal his position just yet.  
He saw her disturbed look; her step backwards into the shadows of the trees.  
_Almost....almost!_

There was a vague feeling of disturbance growing in Naruto's stomach. Something was not right; he could feel it.

_Now!_

Hinata started to feel a little weird; it was like her body got heavier every second. The shadows around her were getting darker and darker, as if ready to absorb her in its claws. She wanted to move, run away from this place, but she couldn't. It was as if her feet were glued to the ground. It was now that she realized there was something very, very wrong.

(now, back to Konoha)

''What is it, Shizune?''  
''It's the report from the squad you send a month ago to check upon the borders with the Land of Water'', Shizune answered, still panting.  
''So? What's so disturbing you came rushing in like crazy, thereby interrupting me in my important Hokage business?''  
''Tsunade-sama, please read the contents''  
Tsunade took the document from Shizune and read it quickly.  
''Oh no...''

Hinata tried to force her muscles to move, but her entire body was frozen. She couldn't even scream.  
Just as she was about to panic, her eyes unravelled an emerging shadow, slowly taking form. _Genjutsu? No, byakugan can see through that. This is definitely not genjutsu. But then, what is that..._

''Shizune, when did this report arrive? I want the exact time, right now!'' Tsunade exclaimed.  
'J-Just now Tsunade-sama, the squad thought it to be of so much urgency they send it ahead, and I came to you as soon as I saw the contents!''  
Tsunade closed her eyes, silent for a moment. ''So he has escaped already, huh? This situation demands quick acting. Shizune, bring me the latest records about him!''  
''Right away Tsunade-sama!'' And with that, she immediately went to get the files.  
Tsunade sighed and sat back in her chair. _This is most alarming..._

Adrenaline was racing through Naruto's legs now, enabling him to accelerate in speed. He was so amazingly fast that all you could see was a yellow flash moving through the forest. He knew it wasn't fast enough yet though; it would still take him quite some time to get where Hinata probably was now. _Too much time._

''Here they are Tsunade-sama!'' Shizune cried as she ran back into the Hokage's Office. She came to a standstill in front of the desk. ''He seems to be in some way related to Konoha's Nara clan, but has been banned from Konoha due to kidnapping locals and trying self-invented jutsu's on them. We don't have much information about his techniques, but we do know that he uses the shadows to capture his enemies. However, not in the same way as the Nara clan does. At the end of his battles, his opponents were always found to be...-''  
''Yes?''  
''...- completely sucked out...Sucked out of chakra and any life-energy whatsoever...with death as a result...''

The emerging shadow was now almost close enough to show his outlines. All Hinata could see was that he, or it, or whatever is was, was very tall. However, the most urgent question was not what he looked like, but what he was going to do to her. In her head she screamed for Naruto to come to her aid, but he was probably too far away to even make it in time.  
Due to the huge amount of energy she had already lost, her vision started to blur and her byakugan was faltering.  
All of the sudden, she noticed something; when her byakugan was activated, she was able to see him. However, when her byakugan was failing, he was, somehow, invisible. _So if it wasn't for my byakugan, I wouldn't have noticed him at all...._  
But he was quickly getting closer, and she should have been able to see his chakra system very clearly now, but, as said, she was almost out of energy, causing her byakugan to fade. What she could see was already amazing though. _Such__ enormous chakra! Its vibrations are so strong, it's almost audible.... _  
Counting up even the little information she had, she came to a threatening conclusion; it didn't matter how strong she had gotten, he didn't look like someone she could defeat, especially not in the situation she was in right now.

Tsunade closed her eyes in disgust of what it must be like to have all your energy being sucked out. ''What else do we know?''  
''Not much more than just his name...''  
''Which is...?''

It came to her almost as a whisper from the wind itself.  
'Narahashi Yushiro. Nice to finally meet you.'

**Author note****: Oay, now finally some action on the way. Come on, Naru-chan, go save her from the scary man!**


	10. Interaction

Chapter Eleven

''Narahashi Yushiro. Nice to finally meet you.''  
He had a very soft, low voice. Soothing, almost, but at the moment Hinata found it everything but soothing. Right now, she wanted to close her eyes and hope this was all just a bad dream.  
She felt helpless; she couldn't move a single muscle and her byakugan kept faltering, with more and longer intervals of inactivity.  
''Well, I have been so courteous by telling you my name and now you won't do me the pleasure of telling me yours? You're not very polite, are you?''  
He came closer until he stood just several inches before her. She found that the closer he approached her, the more she was impressed by his height. He frightened her, but he also fascinated her in a weird kind of way.  
''But you sure are very pretty" He said as he lifted up her face with his little finger and viewed her eyes with an examining look. "Very pretty indeed."  
He removed his little finger from her chin and took a few steps backwards, still observing her closely.  
_Just what ís he? He caught me in his trap, why won't he attack me? Why is he just standing there, watching me? What is it he wants from me?_

_Perfect. These are perfect. Finally, my goal is within my reach! _  
He felt it coming up from his lower abdomen through his chest, up to his throat. It tickled, the euphoria, and now he could let it out; now there was nothing between him en getting what he wanted.  
And so he laughed. Loudly.

Naruto heard something. _What the heck is that? What's happening?_ He was quite sure it came from the direction where he thought Hinata was supposed to be right now. _She'd better be okay...Hold on Hinata, I'm almost there..._

Yushiro saw her startled look and calmed down. "Oh, right, I forgot my technique also paralyzes the tongue and the muscles in the throat." He formed a simple hand sign, and the invisible shackles holding her, or so it seemed to her, released a little. She gasped, finally able to breath normally again.  
_Now, to be entirely sure._ "Tell me your name", he spoke with a friendly tone. "I can't kill people if I don't know their names."  
"W-why do you...want....to kill...me?" she panted.  
"Can you see me?"  
"W-what?"  
"You can see me, right?"  
"Y-Yes, but-"  
"Well, there's your reason." Yushiro said with a smile. "Just what did you say your name was?"

"Shizune, I want you to send another squad to the Land of Water immediately!" Tsunade ordered. "And tell them to remove Naruto and Hinata from there as soon as possible!"  
"Hai, Tsunade-sama, but why cancel Naruto-kun's and Hinata-san's mission? Isn't Yushiro the problem?  
Tsunade kept silent for a moment, then looked at Shizune. "They're his target, or actually one of them is."  
Shizune gasped.

Hinata kept silent._ He is going to kill me because I can see him? What does he mean by that? _  
"I believe I asked you a question. Your name, please?"  
"No."  
"No? Well that's a weird name."  
"No, I won't tell you my name!" Hinata exclaimed. _There's more to this than just knowing my name so he can kill me, there's something more...think Hinata, think!_  
Yushiro sighed. "You are one pigheaded girl. I sure do like that, I sure do." He grinned.  
Hinata's mind was racing. _Why could my name be so important to him? Think girl, what does a name tell about somebody? It tells who his or her relatives are, from which clan one comes from...  
Clan...  
Clan!  
That must be it! If I tell him my name is Hyuuga Hinata, he will know I'm from the Hyuuga clan in Konoha! But more importantly, he will probably know I'm from the main branch and therefore have no cursed seal to protect the byakugan from being stolen! That's why he said that the reason to kill me was me being able to see him! He wants the ability to see through everything! He...He wants my byakugan! And by killing me, he could examine it because there's no cursed seal to prevent that from being done! _  
The panic started to raise in her. She was in deep, deep trouble.

"What do you mean, 'they're his target', Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked, shocked.  
"Don't you find the coincidence a little obvious?"  
"Uh?"  
"I heard about the Lavender Tear about six days ago, two days after Yushiro escaped, according to the squad's report. And now it seems that Yushiro is hiding in the exact same area where the Lavender Tear supposedly grows, thus where Naruto and Hinata are."  
"I still don't understand." Shizune said confused.  
"I sent Naruto and Hinata on that mission to find the Lavender Tear, because I had heard it had some special healing abilities, and that potions made from those herbs could cure near fatal injuries in just one day. You know that, right?"  
"Yes, I know about that"  
"Well, now that I think about it, I'm not sure whom I heard it from, and most importantly, from whom that person heard it from."  
"So?"  
"This whole Lavender Tear legend might as well be a mere myth. A trap to get me interested. He knew that I would want to investigate the matter, since I'm a medical specialist, and I would probably send a team to search for it.  
By adding the part about the Tear being very hard to find, he was making sure I would send a person with a special search ability. He couldn't predict which ability that would be, but there would be a high possibility the byakugan would be joining the search squad. I also recall there were some rumors going around about Yushiro a few years ago..."  
"What kind of rumors?"  
"He always chose a specific kind of victims; shinobi with special bloodline limits. When those ninja were found, they weren't just sucked out of all energy, their special ability was extracted as well. If we assume these rumours were true, and Yushiro is in fact after bloodline limits, then I have made an incredible mistake by sending a byakugan, Konoha's most special bloodline limit, right into his arms! And not only that, but she is from the main branch of the clan, she's even the heiress of the main branch!"  
"T-Then Hinata-san is in incredible danger!" Shizune cried.  
"Exactly. Despite the fact she has become very strong lately, she is not strong enough to handle an enemy like this; even Kakashi would have a really hard time dealing with this extremely dangerous guy. As long as she stays together with Naruto, she might have a change though, but if they have split up to search for the Tear, I fear that all is lost."  
"But then, what can we do?"  
Tsunade kept silent for a moment, then said: "What is Naruto's motto?"  
Shizune's shocked expression softened. "Try your best and never give up, even when all hope seems gone."  
"Then that's exactly what we're gonna do."  
"But it takes two dáys to get to the Land of Water!"  
"Which is why I just said I want you to assemble the most suited shinobi available and send them away IMMEDIATELY!" Tsunade commanded.  
"Hai!"

Hinata turned pale, even paler than she already was, and her eyes grew bigger as she realized this whole Lavender Tear tale might have been a trap to lure her to him to begin with.  
"I see you have figured it out. Smart girl! It's almost a pity I will have to kill you..." Yushiro said as he was approaching her. _I figured she wouldn't tell me her name. Doesn't matter. She'll do._  
"I have noticed your byakugan is faltering, so you can't see me very clearly." He said. "Well, I'll make myself visible, it would be rude if I'd kill you and you can't even see me, now, wouldn't it?" And with that said, he suddenly appeared, as if someone turned on the switch.  
Now that she could see him clearly, his length caught her eye once more. She also noticed he was all in black.  
"Now, about the killing, I can do that by slowly sucking out all of you life energy until death, but right now I prefer to do it the shorter way."

There were only five steps between her and him, she saw. _I can't undo this technique before he gets to me, let alone recover enough to even escape, and there's no way Naruto would know I'm in danger, he won't be coming to help me. It's over. _  
Yushiro grabbed a kunai, a smile came upon his face.  
Four more steps to go until he got to her.  
She heard his footsteps coming closer and closer, the sound of snapping grass under his feet, and wondered if it was the last thing she would ever hear.  
Three more steps...  
She thought of Naruto, whom's beloved smile and sparkling blue eyes she was never going to see again. Who she was now never going tell that she actually….  
Two more steps...  
She let out a deep sigh and closed her eyes, awaiting death to come.  
One more step...

"Get the hell away from her dattebayou!"

**No ****author notes XD**


	11. Struggling and Fighting

Chapter Twelve

'Get the hell away from her dattebayou!' Naruto yelled. He was standing on a tree branch only a few feet above the ground, but high enough to be able to oversee the whole scene. And it wasn't a very nice scene. Hinata had been caught by an enemy, at least, she seemed to be, because even though no one held her, she seemed to be almost glued to the ground, not moving a limb. And that tall, black-clothed guy standing there with her couldn't possibly mean well. _Screw that stupid herb. Helping my important teammate comes first. _

_Seems like he's arrived. This is going exactly as planned. Good. I like it that way. _  
He smirked unnoticeably._ Let's play a little, shall we?_ He turned to face the boy.  
'Good evening, nice to meet you. I'm Narahashi Yushiro.'

_What's this? He's introducing himself to me? What a weird guy..._  
'Let her go!' Naruto yelled at him.  
'Nice to meet you Let-her-go-san.' Yushiro said and smiled to the now a little confused boy. 'Although I suspect it's not your real name. It is commonly considered rude to lie when one politely asks for your name, don't you know that?'  
Naruto raised an eyebrow. _What's he doing? _  
'Don't play dumb with me!' he yelled. 'What are you doing to Hinata!'  
'Oh, I see.' Yushiro turned his attention to the frozen girl in front of him and brushed her chin with his index finger. 'Hinata, huh? Mmmm, it fits you perfectly.' _It sounds as softly as her face looks._ He repeated her name a couple of times, as if wanting to get used to sound of it. 'Yes, perfectly.' He raised his arm to feel her skin.  
'Don't you touch her!'  
Yushiro looked at him, only slightly disturbed. 'Why, is she your-' He swayed with his little finger in the air.

Hinata, who had been silent the whole time, turned now bright red.  
'No, of course not!' Naruto had also reddened.  
Even though this was the only answer she could have expected from the loud-mouthed ninja, she still felt hurt by his denial.  
'Right. Well, I have a request for you.'  
'What is it?'  
'I'd like you to come down from there.' Yushiro pointed at the tree branch Naruto was standing on. 'I'd feel much more comfortable if we could speak while being on the same level.'  
Again, Naruto raised an eyebrow. _This guy sure is weird, he isn't acting like a normal enemy at all! Talking about being polite and shit like that...What the heck he thinking? _He narrowed his eyes. _There must be something to it. _  
He looked at Hinata. She still hadn't moved a tiny bit. She also didn't look very energetic.  
'Don't bother, my friend, she can't speak to you. It's you and me now.'  
Naruto gritted his teeth and put his hand on his kunaipocket.  
Yushiro sighed wearily. 'Well, if you're not coming down, I might as well have some fun with your teammate here.'

Hinata's eyes grew bigger and she shrivelled up inside. He was approaching her again, and there wasn't one thing she could do to stop him. Her byakugan had failed already and her chakralevel was alarmingly low. And if it wasn't for Yushiro's technique freezing her muscles, she would have fallen to the ground a long time ago.

It was face to face now. She could feel the intense vibration of his chakra heating her skin, his breath blowing on her face. His hand was reaching towards her- She closed her eyes in fear, waiting to feel his touch.

The sound of two metal objects clinching.  
Nothing.  
The spot where she had expected to feel his touch remained cold.  
She opened her eyes and saw Yushiro holding a kunai, his pose a defending one, the kunai that had been thrown to him falling to the ground.  
More kunai flew through the air, but Yushiro dodged them all perfectly.  
'Come on, don't tell me that's all you've got?' He provoked.  
Hinata knew he was just luring her blond friend out of the tree, and she hoped Naruto would notice it too, and he wouldn't fall for the same trap she'd fallen for.  
Yushiro opened his mouth again to say something, but never did. For Hinata, it all went so quickly now, she could hardly see what was going on. She hadn't even noticed Naruto throwing a fuuma shuriken until she saw Yushiro avoiding it with a graceful move.  
He smirked. _Looks like this kid is pretty simple-minded if he thinks he's got me with such a simple attack. _It was not until then he saw a second fuuma shuriken appear in the shadow of the first one._ Shit._ He had been able to avoid the first fuuma shuriken, since it was kind of obvious from where it was thrown and what its way through the air would be, but the second one wasn't that easy to predict. He realized there was no way to block it nor to dodge it, and judging from the amazing speed with which it was coming to him, he would be dead if it hit him. _Fine then. There's no other way. _

Hinata had seen it all, and expected the second shuriken to hit Yushiro an wound him badly, if not fatally. But instead she witnessed something entirely different.  
Somehow the shuriken deflected in its arc through the air, but only a little. It was now easy for Yushiro to avoid it. He bent over backwards, until his head almost touched the ground, and his body formed a 90 degrees turned capital C.  
He closed his eyes and smiled, his head still hanging upside down. _So you're a little smarter than I thought, I'll give you that, but you still don't impress me. _

Until now Hinata had been able to keep it secret that she could still speak, that she had still a some chakra left, even if it was only very little. But as she saw Naruto jumping down from the tree branch into the shadows of the ground, in full attacking mode, she screamed out to him.  
'No! Naruto! Don't touch the ground! Stay away from the shadows!'  
Her screaming was in vain, Naruto had already touched the ground and was running towards the still backwards bent Yushiro. Judging from his speed, Yushiro wouldn't be able to get up quickly enough to prevent Naruto's rasengan from hitting him hard.

_This is it._ Naruto and Hinata both thought.

But it wasn't.

Just as rasengan was about to smash Yushiro, Naruto's muscles froze.


	12. Desperation

Chapter Thirteen

_Crap._ It felt as if his blood was slowly turning into ice as it flowed through his system, paralyzing him. Immediately he felt tiredness falling upon him, slowly draining his energy. He watched helplessly as his rasengan faded into his hand and disappeared.

_I can't believe it. I can't believe it's over! This is Naruto, he can't be beaten this easily! I refuse to believe this. _

'Well, well', Yushiro said dryly as he was getting up. 'It seems you make fatal decisions in the heat of the moment, judging from the way you jumped down and attacked me. As daring and courageous as it seemed, it was fairly stupid as well.'  
Naruto gritted his teeth, and Yushiro smiled seeing this. He had caught him in his technique so quickly, he hadn't been able to fight back and safe some muscle control, as Hinata apparently had been. He knew that the fact the boy now wasn't able to say anything back, tortured him on the inside. And Yushiro liked to torture people.  
'You're very easy to read you, you know. You attack bluntly and without thinking. You're clearly not cut out to be a shinobi. If you would have observed the situation some more, you could have meant something to you friend over there, but now? There's no chance. You blew it.'

Hinata felt heat burning behind her eyes. _He's already meant so much to me…_

'It is wise to spy on your prey a little before attacking, as I've done, isn't it?' Yushiro continued. 'This taken in consideration, I know a lot more about you than you do about me, since you've just met me and haven't had the opportunity to gain knowledge about me by spying on me. I'll give you a moment to think that over now.'

The atmosphere of the battlefield had changed the moment the young boy had arrived, and Yushiro was aware of that. But he had reckoned with him, and as far as he knew, the yellow-haired ninja would not be much of a problem as soon as he'd show his trump card. Which he had the moment he'd activated his rasengan. It was a very powerful weapon indeed, but nothing Yushiro couldn't deal with.

'Now, which one of you shall I kill first? Oh, I know!' He picked a kunai from his holder and, rotating it around a finger, he walked towards Hinata. 'How about I kill her in front of your eyes? Not that there's much left to kill, she's pretty much a wreckage already.' He sounded as if he was about to slap a fly, not kill a human being.

More gritting teeth. The pupils centred in the bright blue eyes of the boy had changed into slits, his eyecolour had turned red.

Yushiro smirked. _It's so easy to lure him out, and a lot of fun too. But this playing has taken too long now, it's time to end it. _

Within the glimpse of an eye, he disappeared from Hinata's side and appeared at Naruto's. The eyes of the latter grew bigger in shock. _How'd he do that?! _But there was no more time to think, because the kunai that was originally meant for Hinata, was now at Naruto's throat.

Hinata stopped thinking. Now that the moment was there that Yushiro was going to kill the one person that meant the world to her, her mind shut down, as if protecting her from processing the scene she was about to witness.

The moon was caught in the glittering of the metal as it slit Naruto's throat and ended Hinata's world.

And, like before, everything went black.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Darkness…

Darkness enveloped her head, her mind and her soul.

_Where am I? Wait, I? What is I? Who is I? Am. I am. I am what? What am I? Where am I?_

All she knew was she felt something was not right in this world of blackness, and as consciousness struggled to return to her, she tried to figure out what it was that made her feel uncomfortable.

She missed something. Something she'd had before, was now missing, but why?

A jolt went through her mind as she felt a rag of her memory was returning, then frustration took over when it disappeared only shortly after. It was as if she was back in her childhood again, climbing a tree but just not able to reach the branch she was trying to grab.  
She tried to hold on to her memory, but just when she felt she had firmly grabbed, it slipped between her fingers again.

Wetness. It seemed to be caused by the feeling of uneasiness she was experiencing, and somehow it was a familiar feeling.  
She could feel it gliding down her….her….what was it called again? Cheeks? Cheeks. But then, if she had cheeks, she must have a….a face. And a body. She had a body. Since when did she have a body?  
But no more time to think anymore, the darkness came to claim her again.

…

…

…

_Naru-…to….-kun…_.A whisper.

…

The whisper grew louder. Naruto-kun.

…

It was now more like a scream. Naruto-kun!

More screaming. NARUTO-KUN!

NARUTO-KUN!

Darkness again.

…

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She was being moved again. Again? Why did she know this was not the first time? It certainly went much smoother than before, though. Somehow she remembered herself being carried on something that bumped a lot. _Wait, did I just remember that? And did I just realize that? Wait, what's happening? _  
She slightly moved her eyelids. A flash of light worked its way through her eyes to her retina, followed by a piercing pain waving through her head.  
'Uhhhh…..ooaahhhh…..' Her lips felt dry.  
'Oh! Sakura-san! She's awake!'  
She stopped moving. Trying to ignore the pain, she opened her eyes some more. After a few confusing seconds, she managed to distinguish a face hanging above her. She'd seen it before.  
'Bring me some water!' The face shouted to someone, then it looked at her again. 'Hey there. How are you doing? Feel any pain?'  
_That's an understatement. _She felt as if she'd been crushed by a whale. A pregnant one, too, but all she could bring out was 'ugh…gnnnn.'  
The water was brought in. The face put a hand under her head and brought the glass to her lips. She drank it greedily and gratefully.  
'Easy there, Hinata! Now relax, it'll be fine once we've operated on you. We're going to the OR this very moment.'  
'Uhu'  
'Hinata-san?'

'She's lost consciousness again!'  
'Then let's go! Move it!'

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She was awoken by sound. Someone was talking to her. Someone she apparently knew, because she knew the person's voice. She opened her eyes. A white ceiling. _The hospital?_ She looked sideways and recognized the face to which the voice belonged; it was the same girl who had given her water, years ago. _Sakura._ She was checking her charts and temperature, and talking to her while doing that. That same moment she became aware of the pain she was feeling and uttered a soft moan.  
The green eyes looked up to her. 'Hinata, you woke up! How do you feel?'  
_Hinata? O, right, that's my name, I remember. She's called me that before._  
She opened her mouth to speak, but no words passed her lips.  
'O wait, let me help you.' The pink-haired girl helped her sit up and made her drink something. Hinata coughed. Whatever it was Sakura'd given her, it was incredibly nasty. It smelled (and tasted) of burned leather. She probably made a face, because Sakura laughed and said: 'That's the medicine I'll be giving you for the next two weeks. I know it's not very tasty, but it ought to make you feel better very soon.'  
Hinata cleared her throat and ignored the dizziness caused by sitting straight up in bed.  
'Thank you…Sakura-san….' She managed to say.  
The girl smiled to her and wrote something down. 'No need to call me that, you know. Just 'Sakura' is fine.'  
Hinata narrowed her eyes. Someone had said that to her before.  
'Sakura?'  
The girl looked up from the paperwork she was holding.  
'What's wrong with me?'  
'Well, let's say you've been very lucky. When you were brought here, almost all your chakra reserves were completely gone and your internal organs had suffered great damage due to that. Luckily you've made it here just in time for us to be able to save you. We had to restore your chakra flow immediately, but normal chakra injection wouldn't have been fast enough to save your life, so we had to open you up to blend our chakra directly into your system.'  
Hinata touched her side but quickly pulled her hand back. 'Aaah'  
'Yeah, I would leave that wound alone for a while if I were you, it has to heal on its own.'  
She probably saw Hinata's startled look because she added : 'Don't worry, we did it with precision, so it'll only be a small scar.'  
But that was not what she was worried about. The same uneasiness she'd felt before was making it's way up from her stomach to her chest. As she closed her eyes, things were coming back to her again.  
She leaned her heavy head against the wall behind her bed and concentrated.  
Jumping. Running. Searching? Looking. Moving. Screaming. Screaming? _Yes, I remember, I remember. _  
Herself being caught by Yushiro, Naruto coming to her aid, Naruto getting killed by Yushiro. _Naruto getting killed by Yushiro...  
It can't be! _Struggling against her tears as well as against her memories she faced Sakura.  
'Is he…Is he….dead?'  
In the heavy silence that followed, she hoped for her memories to be false post-surgery illusions so badly, had it been possible, the intensity of her wishing would have made it so. But inside her head she knew they were real memories, that she would have to carry them with her until her mind would fade away, and for a moment, she wished for the darkness of the past time to come and take her in its blissful ignorance again.  
Sakura sighed sadly, the worst possible answer. Hinata bowed her head and watched her hands to restrain the tears from coming until she would be absolutely sure all hope was gone.  
'He was killed.' Sakura said almost inaudible, as if speaking to herself, and left.

**author note: sorry guys, this hás to happen. Read it closely. You'll see what's happened in the upcoming chapters! Thanks to all my reviewers!**


	13. I Miss You

Chapter Fourteen

_Frustration. Yes. Despair. Yes. She was searching for the right words to describe her feelings. Anger. Yeah. Oh, but she wasn't mad at him, of course not, how could she be? She just hated herself. _

It was a misty morning in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The sun had risen about three hours ago, but her rays had of yet not been able to pierce the grey, cloudy sky and warm the black-haired kunoichi standing at the memorial. The little wind there was blew through her hair and in her neck, making her shiver. She had stayed up all night in her small apartment, knowing the bed a few apartments next to hers would remain empty, this night again.

_I miss his smile._

It had only been as little as two weeks ago, the last time he had smiled at her. When she had just been discharged from the hospital, somewhere about a week ago, she'd been afraid she would forget what his smile was like, and what it did to her. But now, here at the memorial, where silence reigned and memories were relived, she wanted to feel the same sunshine in her head she used to feel whenever she thought about him. Yet thinking of him now, the little sunshine she had left in her life faded away, disappearing beneath the surface of her present emotions. Thinking of him now, darkness filled her soul, for the light in her life had been cruelly snatched away. Right now, she only felt the pain and the loss. She'd lost him. She'd lost his smile.

_I miss to watch him train._

All those years she had spend watching him, without him ever noticing of course, she had seen him grow. Growth not only in strength and speed, but in passion and determination as well, two aspects she had always admired about him, and had also aspired to achieve. Had it all been for nothing?  
She kept thinking about the last time she'd watched him, that last time she'd seen him fight. And it had been for her. That thought should've made her feel better, but it only deepened her sorrow. That last time she'd seen him, he was fighting for her sake, because she couldn't, and he died for it. He died for her, because of her.

It was getting colder, and taking a glance at the darkening sky, Hinata knew that rain was about to come. It was a certain smell in the air that told her so. She touched the cold, hard stone one last time and walked away from the scene.

The one black eye of a certain silver-haired shinobi watched her leave. He had left the memorial just before she came, and the aura of sorrow she carried around her had reminded him of the first days after he himself had lost the ones dear to him. He had decided to stay and watch her grieve in silence from behind the bushes and trees surrounding the area. _I wonder what memories are haunting her…_

The business and sociability going around in the crowds wandering the Konohan streets should have helped her divert her thoughts a little, but it was idle hope. The happy chattering of the people on the streets only reminded her more of him, and a moment long, she thought she heard him laugh. She ran in the direction of where she thought she'd heard it coming from. A moment long, she thought it had all been a lie, and Naruto was alive and well. Then, the disappointment and disillusionment when she found herself standing in front of Ichiraku's.

_I miss him._

'Hinata-san! What will it be today?' The shopowner asked her.  
_Last time I was here, it was with him…_ 'No thanks, not today. I…eh...I have a mission.'  
'Oh, well, too bad. See you some other time then. And give Naruto my greetings when you see him again!'  
She ran away.

The dark clouds had come to their maximum ability to bear the humidity in the air, and started to burst open just as Hinata closed the door behind her, panting. She let herself slip to the floor and tried to regain her breath. Maybe now was the time to get absolutely wasted.

The rain was pattering against the window as Hinata opened a bottle of sake and took a swig. She felt the liquid slide down her throat and closed her eyes. It were times like this she felt lonely. Of course Shino, Kiba, Akamaru and Kurenai had all visited her while she was in the hospital, along with several others of her friends, but none of them could neutralize the immense pain she felt inside, and luckily none of them had brought up the subject.  
She sighed and looked up to watch the black heavens. The darkness of the sky was similar to the one in her soul. _Because what is darkness but the absence of light?_  
Naruto had always been her light, her inspiration. His courage to fight had become hers, and now that he was gone, all the things he had given her, even without knowing, seemed to have vanished along with him.  
She watched the empty streets below her window, washed clean by the rain, and remembered that day she had seen him walking there, on his way to Ichiraku's. That day she had decided to tell him. But how circumstances had changed, and priorities had shifted.  
A flash of lighting enlightened the city, followed by a soft rolling thunder not long after.  
_No, he's not gone. I can still tell him. Maybe not him personally, but I can still tell the memory of him that lives on in my heart. To me, he still exists. _

She put the bottle away and closed her curtains. The fatigue caused by the night without sleep fell upon her and made her head heavy. She felt the scar on her side react to her tiredness and it started to hurt a little again. But because she had just drank alcohol, she could not take her medicine right now. She would do that later. With a yawn, she headed towards her bedroom.

Tonight she would visit the memorial again.

**A/N: so this was the fourteenth chapter, hope you enjoyed it (as far as that was possible). Five left to go. **


	14. Change

Chapter Fifteen

The sun was setting, colouring the sky above the city brightly red with here and there a hint of purple. Her rays had entered through Hinata's window and the bright light had woken her up. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. Still feeling a little dizzy, she got up and walked to the window. The heavy rain that morning had cleared the sky from any cloud, and she found the sunset to be exquisitely beautiful. _It must be a sign…_

The soft evening breeze blew through the training areas as Hinata made her way towards the memorial for the second time this day. Today she would complete the mission her heart had given her. Still, she was as nervous as if she was actually going to tell him to his face. Even though she had thought her actions thoroughly through, and even though she had repeated the things she would say in her head, and Naruto wouldn't be able to laugh at her, she felt her heart pounding in her chest. Today, she would confess the feelings she had always kept secret from him. She would end the chapter in her life where she was weak and shy and unworthy.

She sat down by the memorial stone and watched the sky until the last sun rays had disappeared behind the border of the visible world.

_I guess it's time. _

A little confused as to how exactly she would begin her story, she turned to face the stone and took a deep breath.

It had been one hour since the sun set, and Hinata was still there, mustering courage. She was still standing in front of the memorial stone. _I've never thought something like this would be this hard. _  
To calm herself down, she closed her eyes and tried to imagine the face of her beloved one in her minds eye. It was still there, it had not faded one bit. _And I will keep remembering his face, so it won't fade. He won't fade. _  
She sighed. _Why is this so freaking hard for me? _

Ten minutes later; still nothing. She smiled at her inner self. _This is so typically me. I couldn't talk to him while he was still alive, and now that I'm about to confess to a dead person, I still can't face him. I couldn't gather the courage to tell him when he was among us, and I still can't. I guess I haven't changed after all. _

'Courage is a remarkable thing if you don't possess it, isn't it? Naruto?' she softly whispered to the face in her head.

One isn't necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. If anyone, Naruto definitely carried a lot of that potential. Unlike her, he would stand up for himself and what he believed in. Before she met him, she was what he had once said she was, a dark, timid and shy girl. Was she still that girl? Had she really not changed? _Well, the current situation kind of proves I don't, doesn't it?_

Suddenly, something snapped inside. _What am I thinking?! Am I giving up on this? That would be the most disrespectful thing I could possibly do in his remembrance! He has never wanted me to give up on anything. Heck, he never gave up himself! Who am I to consider giving up? This is something I must do, and I will not fail. This is the moment I will sacrifice what I am for what I can become, and I will do it in his honour. Now is the moment I will look my fear and my incapability in the face. I will fulfil the promise of a lifetime to myself. I won't allow myself the right to give up. Ever!_

She looked up to the night sky and focused on one star in particular, the one that had been special to her ever since childhood. _Watch me, mother. _

And for the second time that day, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

It had been a wonderful day for Hatake Kakashi. Ever since it had started to rain he had been strolling through the forests surrounding the Village, something he needed to do when things were starting to get to him. Sometimes it was just too much; the fights, the blood, the kills, the losses. But the soothing atmosphere of the forest and the humid air of a rainy day would then clear his head and keep his emotions locked inside, as he liked it. This day too, he had been wandering around until far in the afternoon.  
The evening had then provided him with a clear sky and a perfect opportunity to lay down on a rooftop and read his favourite series, Icha Icha, a fortunate pleasure in his unfortunate life. When the stars had started to appear he'd decided it was about time to go home and have some sleep.  
With a sigh, he closed his book, put it back in his pocket and, standing up, stretched out.

Jumping over the roofs, his glance fell upon the training fields, in particular the area where the memorial stone was situated. He stopped and watched the girl from the rooftops. _She's there again? Or has she perhaps been there all day? _She was just standing there, deep in thought, it seemed. She was wearing different clothes than that morning, though, so she was apparently visiting the stone again. _Who knows how many times she's visited today..._  
For a moment he felt the urge to come down to her and say something to her, but his experience restrained him. His experience told him it was best for her to be left alone right now, while being closest to her memories…

As he was walking down the street leading to his house, a voice reached his ears from somewhere behind him.  
'Hey! Kakashi-sensei!'  
He turned around to face the caller. 'Yes?'  
'Ah, finally found you. You're kind of hard to find, you know?'  
'Only when I don't want to be found.'  
'…Right. Anyway, have you seen Hinata? I've been looking for her all day but I can't find her anywhere and she won't answer her door.'  
'Maybe she doesn't want to be found either?'  
'Huh? Why wouldn't she? Have you seen her or not?'  
'I have, but I should probably warn you a little. Whatever you need her for or whatever you want to say to her, be careful and gentle handling her, okay?'  
'Uh. Fine, I guess. Sure. Why?'  
'Well, she's at the memorial at the moment…'  
'Oh. I see….' His facial expression changed. 'I understand…Thanks, Kakashi-sensei!'  
Holding back a little smile, said sensei watched his former student go.

_That Naruto…Always compassionate about your comrades, aren't you?_

**_A/N:_ Tehehe. Don't worry, it'll all be explained in upcoming chapters.  
**


	15. Confession

Chapter Sixteen

Naruto could see the training areas from afar, and as he got closer the shape of the memorial stone in the distance clarified, as well as the outlines of a person. _There she is. _He sighed in relief, this was the first time he saw her since he had delivered her unconscious body at the Konoha hospital two weeks ago, and he was glad to see that, as far as he could tell, she showed no signs of any serious injury .

He'd come back from his mission only this afternoon. It had been a mission that had come most inconveniently; right after he'd returned from his mission with Hinata. He had objected at first, because it would mean he had to leave an unconscious friend in the hospital as he went. Not only that, but the mission given to him would take him two whole weeks to accomplish, two weeks in which he couldn't be with her right when she needed him. But Tsunade was not the person to pick fights with, and so he went. He'd felt guilty when he left, but in the end he'd decided that if he had to leave her for a mission, it'd better be one he'd finish successfully.  
And so he had. And now that he was back, impatient as he was, he wanted to see her as soon as possible, happy to have found out she'd been released from the hospital.

Kakashi's words floated through his consciousness as he got nearer to the form standing by the memorial and he decided to approach her silently, as not to startle her.  
She looked so vulnerable as she was standing there: staring at her shoes, her arms held at her chest, yet there was this vibration coming from her that made him look at her differently in one way or another. Was he witnessing her hidden strength coming out?  
_Hey, she looks up. _The long black hair that had been hiding her face up until now, did not any longer, and Naruto was surprised to see how beautiful she actually was.  
_I never noticed…_

He saw her mouth moving, but he couldn't hear anything she said from where he was. Carefully he sneaked closer, still hidden from her sight, but to an audible distance. Hinata had never been a loudmouth, and now that she was almost whispering, he had to fully concentrate to be able to hear her.

'…-taught me some truly valuable lessons of life, and I plan to hold on to them until the day I die. So that's why there's this one thing I have to do. And that is…it's….something I need to confess to you, Naruto…'

For a moment he thought she'd seen him, but as he was about to act as if being caught, she continued, and he silenced his apparently still unnoticed self.

'I have always admired your courage. You know that, I told you so several years ago, remember? But, you see, there's something more to it. There's more to you than just courage, I discovered. You're also the most kind and caring person I've ever met, and one of the most amazing ninja's I've ever seen. You would have made such a great Hokage, Naruto…And I'm so proud of you, even though you don't know, and…never really will, I guess…But that doesn't matter, because to me you are…well…you are you, and that's what I admire about you the most, and what I've loved for so long. You see, I…I love you, Naruto.'

Had it been possible, the sound of Naruto's lower jaw dropping on the ground would have alarmed Hinata. Words, feelings and memories were overwhelming him, causing him to be frozen on his place.

'I know I'm a little late in telling you, and I apologize for not doing so sooner, before you left this earth.' She felt her throat tightening. 'I promise you'll never leave my heart.'  
She placed her hand upon the cold grey stone in front of her, and she could swear it felt a little warmer than before. She put her other hand next to the first, trying to make contact with the Other Side through the stone, to reach him through all that had been and now never would be. She swallowed.  
The incredible amount of emotions waving through her chest was painful as well as it was a relief. Knowing she had finally done it, the tears she'd been holding back for so long, finally came out.  
Slowly, one tear after another, everything came out. No sobbing sounds. Just cheeks getting wet and a heart getting poured out in every single drop escaping from her lavender eyes, each one shimmering in the moonlight.  
Then, there was the feeling of a hand on her shoulder. The tender gesture of compassion. She turned her head to see who-

'Hinata? Hinata?!'

**A/N: I know. **


	16. I'm Sorry

Chapter Seventeen

Birds were chirping and the leaves of the trees close to the window of the Konoha hospital were rustling. Early sunrays peeked through the glass into the room were a dark-haired girl lay asleep in bed, a blond boy sitting next to her, also asleep. Slowly the girl opened one eye, then another.  
_This rooms looks familiar…I'm in the hospital again? What happened this time?_  
With a jolt she sat up as she recalled the events of the night before. _He's alive!_  
Just as she was about to jump out of bed and do a little dance, the boy let out a little groan, reacting to the sudden movement of the bed he was using as a pillow. Hinata watched him sleep further and smiled. _He must've brought me here after I fainted and stayed with me all night. _Carefully she touched his whiskered cheek, afraid to wake him, and caressed the warm skin. _I am so thankful you're alive. Heaven knows how you did it, but I am so, so thankful. _

He looked so peaceful asleep, it was almost childishly cute. For a moment Hinata had the urge to…_No, I can't do that. That would be taking advantage, wouldn't it? But I suppose I can-_  
She kissed the fingertip of her right index finger and placed it on his…forehead. _His forehead? You could at least have given him an indirect kiss by placing it on his lips. _She felt her cheeks burning as that thought ran through her mind, and bit her lip. _I guess I still am this shy towards him, even if I confessed…Wait, I confessed? I actually confessed? _She brought her hand to her forehead as she now remembered that minor detail. _He probably heard all of it too, considering he showed up right after I was done. Good grace, I don't even want to know what he must've thought while hearing it. Last night he must've gotten the shock of his life. _  
The blond murmured something in his sleep.  
_Well, I guess that would make two of us…_

'Good morning Hinata' it sounded from the door opening.  
'Good morning Sakura.' She greeted the pink-haired girl with a tired but sweet smile.  
'I see you just woke up, so you must've been out of it all night, eh?'  
'I guess.'  
'Yeah, well, that would probably be partly my fault too.' Sakura said as she took a chair and sat down at Hinata's side.  
'What do you mean?'  
'From what I know and heard from Naruto when he brought you in last night, there's been a little misunderstanding, but I suppose you've noticed that already.' She let out a little chuckle, partially in shame and partially in head shaking due to the irony of the whole situation, and continued with a sigh: 'I should probably tell you everything from the beginning. As I just said, Naruto told me everything after he'd brought you here; we talked until very late last night, that's probably why he's still asleep right now… So, I know everything about what happened. Also about the fight with Yushiro. He said you'd lost consciousness due to exposure to Yushiro's chakra-drain-technique for a very long time. After he'd ended the fight he took you on his back and ran a night and a day straight to get you here in time. It's thanks to him you're still alive too.'  
A short silence followed as both kunoichi watched the young boy at the other side of the bed. One full of admiration and pride of her teammate, the other filled with sheer gratefulness._ He really is something. _  
'Mmmm…….Ramen….' he mumbled in his, obviously very nice, dream.  
'Anyway, you were still unconscious when he got sent away on a next mission shortly after that. He really didn't want to, I should say, but you know the Fifth. When you woke up, I assumed you knew Naruto had killed Yushiro, so-  
'-when I asked you if he was dead, you thought I meant Yushiro…' Hinata filled in.  
'Yeah. You meant Naruto, but I told you he died…' Sakura took Hinata's hand in hers. 'Heaven knows what I must've put you through the last two weeks. I am so incredibly sorry, Hinata! I am so, so sorry! I truly am-'  
Hinata squeezed Sakura's hand. 'It's okay, Sakura, I know you didn't mean for this to happen. And I know this sounds weird, but…In a way I'm grateful this happened.' She leaned her head back against the wall and focused on the white ceiling. She felt like watching the past from the present and suddenly understanding how things happened.  
'If it hadn't been for that situation and the suffering it caused me, I probably wouldn't have told him, even if it was accidentally. At least not at that moment…'  
'Wait, you mean, you _told_ him?' Sakura exclaimed with wide eyes.  
Hinata blushed and turned her gaze to her fidgeting fingers. 'Eventually yes, I think he heard me when I was confessing to his remembrance at the memorial stone. Didn't he tell you last night?'  
'Well, no…' Sakura smiled. 'Really, fate must have had a hand in this.' She then whispered.  
'And I'm sorry it had me play such a terrible part in it, Hinata, I really am. Please forgive me. '  
'There's no need to, really, it was a misunderstanding on both parts. We're either both to blame or none of us is.'  
Sakura was silenced by this unexpected statement of the girl. Hinata had every reason to blame her, but she didn't. _She accepts the prank fate pulled on her through me, and doesn't love me less for it. _  
'You really are an amazing person, Hinata, has anyone told you that before?'  
Hinata had a soft glance in her eyes as she turned them to the sleeping boy. 'He has..'  
'I see…' Sakura said, her smile an understanding one, and let go of Hinata's hand. Standing up, she took her clipboard and wrote something down. 'Well, you look a little tired now. I'd advice you to get some more sleep and then I'll sign your release forms.'  
She helped Hinata into a vertical position again without waking Naruto and made ready to leave. She held still in the door opening.  
'Oh, Hinata? I really hope things will work out for you and airhead over there.'  
Both girls smiled at each other, and Hinata felt sleep taking over her consciousness.

Around three hours later she was awoken by someone entering her room. A nurse put a glass of water on the night table next to her bed. 'Glad to see you're awake, Hyuuga-san, someone will come soon with some breakfast for you.' She helped Hinata sit up and handed her the glass. 'You can take a shower after that if you like, and then come to the reception desk to be discharged, please.'  
Hinata had to blink with her eyes several times before it occurred to her someone was missing.  
'Nurse? Where's the boy who sat next to me?'  
The woman had a look of confusion on her face for a moment, but then replied: 'Oh that blonde kid? He walked out about an hour ago. Said there was something he had to do. He asked me to tell you to meet him on the Hokage mountain when you'd wake up.'  
Hinata nodded and took a swig of the water.

Half an hour later, she stood outside. For the first time since her last mission she felt the sun on her face and enjoyed it, and couldn't wait to go see Naruto, of course. Some leaves swirled downwards from the treetops above her, and were blown into her face. She pushed them away, but not before taking in their scent. There is no scent as pure as that of autumn leaves, she knew. In a way, they smelled like solution. Or resolution. Either one.  
She picked one up, the golden colour reminded her of a certain hair colour. She placed it in front of her mouth and blew it away, like a kiss, almost.

Naruto was sitting on a bench on top of the Hokage mountain and watched the wind play with the leaves. One of them got pushed into his face. He wiped it off and wondered whether Hinata had woken up yet.


	17. Confluence

Chapter Eighteen

A sigh escaped the boy's mouth as he changed his stance to a more comfortable one. His muscles had gotten a little tense from being in the same position all the time he had been waiting for Hinata to arrive. He lay his hands on the railing on the top of the Hokage mountain and sniffed in the breeze that usually refreshed Konoha's air this early in the morning. _It's around nine-ish now, and she still isn't here. I wonder if she got my message right…_

Just as he was about to go down and check whether or not Hinata had received his message, he heard someone coming his way, breathing heavily.  
'Hinata-chan! You're finally here! Man, I've waited for you like- Hey, are you okay? You're panting.'  
He lay his hand on her back, trying to comfort the girl as she was catching her breath.  
'I'm- I'm fine, Naruto-kun, it was just kind of hard for me to climb all those stairs after being inactive for a while..'  
'O, right, I guess I forgot about that. I'm sorry.' He said with his hands behind his head, his face decorated with a goofy grin.  
'O, and Hinata-chan? What did I tell you about the suffix?'  
'Right, I'm sorry, Naruto…'  
For a moment all was silent on top of the mountain, then Naruto continued: 'Okay', he said with a chuckle, 'shall we stop apologizing to each other now?'  
'Yes, I'm sor-'  
'Shhhh' He cut her off by laying his finger on her lips, just like he had done in the forest. It seemed like forever ago. The blush on her cheeks displayed she remembered well, though.  
After she had found her ability to speak again, she said: 'But you're adding a suffix to my name too…'  
'Yeah, well, that's 'cause it sounds cute…Just as you are…'  
She looked at him for a moment, had he really said that?  
Not much time to let those words hit her conscience, because Naruto went on: 'Are you sure you're okay now by the way? I mean, I heard from Sakura-chan you were in the hospital for like a week, and you're still using medicine, is that right? Must've been a really harsh jutsu you've been hit with.'  
'Yeah, I have to take my medicine for two more days or so, and then I should be okay…  
But how are you?'  
'Aah it's nothing, just some small scars that bastard gave me. Here, wanna see?' He asked and started to put out his jacket before Hinata could even answer.  
He turned sideways to her and showed her his left upper arm. A very muscled arm. _Wow, I wonder what it would feel like to-_  
'You wanna touch? The skin feels pretty weird.'  
Bashfully she placed her finger on his arm, for a moment electrified by the contact between their mutual skins. The pinkish scar tissue was shaped in two straight lines parallel to each other, both were about two inches long. _It feels like caressing plastic…_  
'How did this happen?' she asked, her fingers still on his arm. She had noticed a soft blush had started to appear on his whiskered cheek.  
'Well, I guess you wouldn't know since you passed out…The guy you saw fighting the enemy was my clone. He was the one you saw getting killed before you fell unconscious. After my clone disappeared, the real me who'd been watching the whole thing, jumped from behind the bushes, and in the confusion that followed, I attacked the enemy -what was it, Yushiro or something?- with another rasengan. Then the fight really started. You should've seen me Hinata, I was pretty cool.'  
_I wish I had._  
'He scratched me with his kunai during that fight, hence the scars, it was pretty deep and it was bleeding as if there was no tomorrow!'  
He had started to use wild gestures with his arms halfway his story, and right in the middle of one, he realised: 'Oi, I'm exaggerating again, ain't I?'  
Hinata giggled and nodded. 'But that doesn't matter, I like you as you are.'  
Silence. Eyes widening.

'W- We- H-Hinata-chan…'  
With a blush as red as Karin's hair, she muttered: 'No, it's true.' Then a little clearer: 'You are great as you are, really. You have something that I didn't have until recently. Courage.'  
He was a bit dumbfounded by her sayings, what was there to say now?  
'Thank you, Hinata…'  
She took her hand of his arm and turned towards the wide view over Konoha laying below her, and she felt her hand getting cold were smooth skin had previously warmed it.  
Naruto took the time to look at her, then faced the same way.  
'You know, Ero-sennin once told me something I'd like you to hear too.'  
He paused a second or two, a tribute to the genius pervert.  
'He said this… "Courage is nothing less than the power to overcome danger, misfortune, fear and injustice, while continuing to affirm inwardly that life with all its sorrows is good; that everything is meaningful even in a sense beyond our understanding, and that there's always a tomorrow" '  
'Your sensei was a wise man.'  
'Yeah, he was…'

Hinata eyed him as long as she could until she thought he would notice it. This boy, this young man. Life had not been kind to him, and yet he proceeded to share his heart with people. He continued caring for his long lost friend, even when all hope seemed lost. Isn't that true courage? Isn't that genuine strength?

Naruto, oblivious to the fact his companion had been staring at him for quite some time now, let out a deep breath.  
'I know I just said we should stop apologizing, but there's still one thing I need to say.' He turned to face her. 'I'm sorry you got into all this mess because of me, and I'm sorry for the pain you've endured for it.'  
'Naruto, really, it's okay….You….I know you didn't mean for it to happen, believe me, if anything is to blame, fate is. It was just a bad confluence of circumstances. It's nobody's fault.  
If anything, I am more grateful for the fact that you are alive, Naruto…'  
'…Hinata…I…No one has ever said something like that to me…'  
'Just as you were the first one to ever believe in me, even before I could myself. And for that I should thank you.'  
Scuffing with her nails on the painted layer of the railing, Hinata resisted the urge to crawl back into her shell again after revealing that much about herself to him.  
'You really are one of a kind, Hinata, you know that?'  
She smiled at him. 'Well, something similar could be said of you.'  
'I guess it could' He said with an ironic undertone, placing his hand on his stomach.  
'But there was something else I wanted to talk to you about, you know, after what happened the night before…'  
Hinata nodded and stared into the distance, as to not face him as they were about to start the conversation she'd thought and fantasized of for so long.  
'I asked you to come here, because…Well, I don't really know why, but up here it always seems so calm. It's a could place to go when you want to clear your thoughts, or…well, have a good talk with someone.'  
Naruto rubbed the back of his head as he was searching for the words he was about to say.  
'So, I think I'm just going to ask…What you said last night, you know, the part where…'  
Even without his eyes and his body language speaking she knew exactly what part he meant.  
'You mean, right before you…?'  
'Yeah, that. Were you really….I mean are you still…?'  
It took Hinata a moment to gather her racing thoughts and answer; she was a little afraid of where it would lead to. But in the end, this was what she had aspired to do for a long time, and now it was for real. He was really standing in front of her, asking her the question.  
'In love with you? Yes I was. And I still am.'

All of her fantasies had ended after her answering his question, she had never dared to think ahead of it. She was surprised she didn't feel like running away or fainting, but she couldn't look him in the eyes either. And so she was facing the ground, wondering what his reaction would be, what his face looked like now that she had actually told him to his face. Therefore she didn't notice Naruto approaching her until she felt his arms sliding around her waist and pulling her in for a hug.

The first three or four seconds Hinata's mind was totally blanked by the sudden intimacy, but then she found her arms pulling herself tighter into his warm body, and she nestled her head on his shoulder.  
A shiver went over her back as she felt his breath upon her neck, and she closed her eyes. Everything to live this moment to the fullest.

Reluctantly he started to pull back to look her in the face. 'I'm so stupid for not noticing earlier, Hinata-chan. And then to think I've been hanging around with the ultimate pervert for about five years, and I still don't know anything about women, makes me even more of a fool, doesn't it?'  
She didn't answer, heck she couldn't even think now that his eyes were focused on hers. Her knees felt weak.  
'But you know, I actually….For a while I've been…While we were on that mission, I…well, I figured some things out; how it was you who always cheered me on, how it was you to always believe in me, how it was you that night at the waterfall…I think, in a way, it's always been you, and-'  
_It's now or never. _

Two soft hands on his cheeks, pulling his face closer. A hint of jasmine in the air and lavender in her eyes as the taste of her lips entered his. Now he was the one to be surprised. Softly he turned his head a little to the side, so their noses wouldn't get in the way, and took their kiss to a new level.  
_Closer. _

A few moments later the need for oxygen obliged them to brake apart, leaving them both speechless of what just happened. Right now, for each one of them only the other existed, nothing in the world would disturb this happy moment Hinata knew she would be repeating in her head like a broken record, until life itself would steal its very breath away from her, like Naruto had done just moments ago.  
Nothing could ever-

_Grumble, grumble. _

Hinata giggled as Naruto's empty stomach made its presence clear to the both of them, and Naruto mumbled an apology. She took his hand and kissed it, as a way to let him know it was okay. It was all okay.

A squall blew some leaves into her face, and she shivered from the cold air touching her skin. Naruto noticed it and lovingly put his jacket around her shoulders.  
'So, how about we go to Ichiraku's and have some early lunch?'

**A/N: This chapter gave me the greatest joy while writing, as I'm sure you can imagine. **


	18. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

'You're late', a certain pink-haired girl stated.

'Well, on my way I came across a cat stuck in a tree, and since I'm such an animal lover, I just had to-'

'Oh, spare me the lame excuses, please. Let's just go inside', interrupted Sakura, trying to sound annoyed. After so many years of this every time they were supposed to rendezvous somewhere, she had gotten used to it. It had been a trademark of her sensei for years, and the truth was; she now came to every team-meeting at least one half an hour later than the actual planned time, as did Naruto and Sai, so they wouldn't have to wait for Kakashi that long.

This time he was really late, though, so Sakura couldn't help but give him a friendly slap on the head before entering the bar for their planned drink.

'I'm afraid Sai couldn't make it this time, he said he had some other business to attend to.' Kakashi said as he took a seat near the window and gestured to Sakura to do the same.

'Naruto can't make it either, he…well, he's got a date', she replied.

'I see…the Hyuuga girl right? Those two seem to really hit it off lately, huh? How long has it been since they started dating?'

'About a month, and things are really going well! Or, so I've heard.'

'You don't happen to be spying on them, are you?'

'Of course not!' Sakura shouted, and she put her hands on her cheeks to prevent Kakashi from seeing the appearing blush on her face.

'Right.' Of course, Kakashi was not the person to be deceived that easily.

'Fine, I guess there are times when curiosity gets the better of me, but hey, it's not like you never spy on anyone.'

'I don't.'

'Oh sure you don't. Then I'd better not mention that time I caught you peeking in the ladies dressing room of the hot springs, especially not when I'm around Tsunade-sama…'

_Touché. _'No, I guess you shouldn't.'

'Sakura-san, Kakashi-san! Having a team-meeting again? Where are Naruto-san and Sai-san?' the owner of the bar greeted his regular customers as he came towards their table.

'They couldn't make it today.' Kakashi answered.

'Oh, a pity, isn't it? Or might this be…' He covered his mouth with his hand and whispered:'…a date?'

'Whaaaaat? No! What would make you think it is!' Sakura yelled and shot up. 'Of course not!'

'Shhh, calm down Sakura, you're scaring the poor man.'

She sighed and sat down. 'Sorry…'

Kakashi ordered drinks for both of them and leaned back in his chair.

'Anyway, Naruto and Hinata huh? That's not much of a surprise actually.'

'No, not really, especially since anyone knew about Hinata having feelings for Naruto. I'm really happy for them. This sort of thing is not something that happens very often to us shinobi.'

'I agree.'

'It's just that…I didn't expect him to notice her feelings, or even to feel the same way…'

Kakashi knew her well enough to know that last remark wasn't made out of jealousy, but it couldn't hurt to tease her a little with it.

'Are we feeling jealous a bit?'

She had noticed the smirk hidden beneath his mask and knew what he was doing, but she decided to play along with it. Sometimes it were these little games that made it easier to live life the way she did.

'Of course not! I never said I was jealous of her!'

'Ah, now I got you. "Jealous of _her_"? So you admit you have, or had, feelings for our favourite blond?'

'No! I just said-'

'Never mind, I get it, I get it.' Kakashi said with a playful undertone.

'Don't worry! When you get lonely, there's always me. We'll just get rid of Naruto and Said and have our own private 'team-meetings'.

'Sensei?'

'Yes?'

'You've been reading too much of those perverted books of yours.'

'Ah! Naruto-kun! Welcome!' the owner of Ichiraku's said happily. 'Oh, and I see you brought your girlfriend! Hinata-san, welcome to you too! Have a seat, have a seat! What will it be today? The usual?' he asked turning to Naruto again.

'Yeah, but make it a large one for me. I've been sparring with Hinata-chan so I'm pretty hungry. You wouldn't believe how strong she is!'

Hinata blushed as her love kept bragging about her. They had been dating for a month now, _one month exactly today_, and she still had to get used to the fact that she was his _girlfriend_ now. And he was her _boyfriend. _

'What are you smiling and blushing about, Hinata-chan? Is it something I said?'

'No, no...I…'

'Then what is it? Come on, say it, 'tebayo, you're making me curious!' the blond exclaimed

'Well, I…I guess being somebody's girlfriend is kind of new to me still.'

'Ah, I see, well don't worry about that. It'll be fine.' He said as he smiled and stroke his fingers over hers.

'Here you go! Have a nice meal!' Ayame said and put two bowls of hot, steaming ramen in front of the couple.

'Itadakimasu!' it sounded in unison.

Hinata watched her boyfriend attack his bowl with his chopsticks before she touched hers, and she knew that if there was such a thing as happiness, this was probably it.

Later that evening Hinata was laying in bed, having said, or rather kissed, goodbye to her boyfriend not long before. She couldn't catch sleep, nor stop her mind from going over all things that happened today. They had celebrated their one-month anniversary, and had spend all day together.

She still couldn't believe he was hers now, that one of her greatest wishes had actually come true.

She touched her lips. _Including that goodbye kiss, he has kissed me 17 times now. _She smiled inwardly for actually having counted all kisses he'd given her, short and long ones, quick and intense ones.

A glance at the alarm clock told her it was almost midnight. She sighed and stepped out of bed. _Maybe a nice walk will do me some good. _

A half an hour later she stood once again on top of the Hokage mountain. Without realising it, she had wandered by all places in Konoha where something big had happened. Firstly a walk through the forests, where she had made her resolution, then towards the Memorial, where she had accidentally told him, and she'd ended up climbing the stairs towards the mountaintop again, where…Well…

She warmed her cold hands on her blushing cheeks, and shivered a bit from the nocturnal cold.

Suddenly she felt something warm around her shoulders.

'Here you go.'

'Naruto?' she whispered surprised and turned her head.

'Couldn't sleep either, huh?' he said as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.

'No…'

They were silent for a moment, watching the skies as Hinata wished for the jacket to disappear so she could feel his body warmth against her back, instead of the soft fabric of the jacket.

'Say, Hinata…'

'Yes?'

'Do you believe in fate?'

'Fate as in…people who are destined to become something?'

'For instance.'

'Well, I know you will be Hokage some day. It has to be. Do you consider that destiny?'

'Maybe, in a way. But do you think things that happen to us, like that accidental misunderstanding you had with Sakura, do you think things like that are determined beforehand by some greater power?'

'You mean like the way our clan has its foundations build on who is born in what family branch?'

'Yes?'

'Well, if it's like that, then no, I do not believe in fate. You taught Neji, and me, that there's no such thing as fate preventing us from fulfilling our dreams and reaching our goals.

I think, in a way, life is like a game of cards. The hand you are dealt with is determinism, the way you play it is free will. Like the way I was born in the head family and Neji in the branch is determinism, and the way we deal with it is our own free will. I don't think there is any destiny or fate that can hinder or control the true resolve of a determined soul, like yours, Naruto…'

'I love you, Hinata.'

'I love you too, Naruto.'

She nestled herself further into his embrace and placed her hands upon his as he kissed her neck.

'Let's go home', he said, 'your hands are cold.'

**A/N: so that's it guys! End of story! I might do a sequel, but I don't have time for that right now. Of course I want to thank all my readers and reviewers for their support! **

**edit  
For everyone who's interested in how and why I wrote this story, I wrote a big-ass review on it myself. So be my guest and follow the link on my profile. Good bye for now!  
**


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